Thomas J. Appio
President and Chief Executive Officer
2022 – Present
4 years (current)
Legacy
Appio became CEO in May 2022, succeeding Joseph Papa, after previously serving as President of Salix Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw the commercial launch of Xifaxan, and in senior commercial roles across Bausch Health's gastroenterology and international businesses over more than two decades at the company. He has overseen Bausch Health's continued deleveraging following the 2022 partial IPO of eye-care unit Bausch + Lomb, managing a complex capital structure that still ties the parent company's finances closely to its former subsidiary. Bausch Health retains a significant equity stake in the separately public Bausch + Lomb, meaning Appio's financial results and strategy remain closely tied to a business he no longer directly runs, a structural complexity that has weighed on Bausch Health's stock valuation relative to its more focused former subsidiary. He has publicly discussed exploring further separations or asset sales to continue reducing Bausch Health's substantial debt load, a legacy of the aggressive, debt-fueled acquisition strategy pursued under the company's earlier Valeant-era leadership before the 2015-2016 pricing scandal forced a fundamental strategic reset.