Cardinal Health Names CEO R. Kerry Clark as Chairman; Company Founder Robert D. Walter to Retire After 36 Years

Robert D. Walter plans to retire at the end of company’s 2008 fiscal year

Cardinal Health, a global provider of products and services that improve the safety and productivity of health care, today announced President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) R. Kerry Clark will become chairman and CEO, effective Nov. 8 following the company’s 2007 annual shareholder meeting. Clark, 55, succeeds Cardinal Health founder Robert D. Walter, 62, who plans to retire at the end of the company’s 2008 fiscal year.

Since joining Cardinal Health in April 2006, Clark has continued the company’s focus on serving health-care providers, divested businesses that fell outside this focus, acquired several companies to complement and grow core businesses and implemented organizational changes to improve operational performance.

Walter will serve as executive director until June 30, 2008, after which he will retire from the company but remain on the board.

“The time is right for Kerry to become chairman,” Walter said. “Our transition has gone extremely well and the company is thriving under Kerry’s leadership. I’m as confident as ever about Cardinal Health and its future.”

John B. McCoy, presiding director of the board, said “Bob has worked closely with the board for many years to plan for his succession. We are grateful for his many years of service to Cardinal Health shareholders and are pleased with the direction Kerry is leading the company. Kerry is building on a strong foundation to create long-term value for Cardinal Health customers, employees and shareholders.”

The chairmanship transition marks another milestone in Walter’s distinguished career. As the longest-tenured chairman of a company the size of Cardinal Health, Walter grew the business from a small, regional food distributor to a diversified provider of health-care products and services and one of the largest companies in the world. An investment of $10,000 in Cardinal Health stock at the time of its public offering in 1983 would be worth $8.2 million in 2007, an appreciation of more than 80,000 percent.