Pledge to revamp Shire board fails to soothe critics

Shire Pharmaceuticals moved yesterday to quell growing criticism of its US-led board, announcing it is seeking two new non-executive directors as well as a replacement for the ousted chief executive, Rolf Stahel.

Analysts left a hastily arranged meeting with the company unconvinced by the official story. This is that Mr Stahel is leaving after nine years as part of normal "succession planning" now that Shire has grown into a global pharmaceuticals company.

The news of Mr Stahel's departure, announced last week, fuelled speculation of a rift between the respected chief executive and the rest of the board over how closely Shire should focus on the US market, which accounts for 49 per cent of the world healthcare market. The board is dominated by US businessmen, mainly drafted in from the six acquisitions made by Mr Stahel since 1993.

James Cavanaugh, the chairman, said Shire would recruit two new non-executives, one each from the US and the UK, and said the national make-up of the board was being kept under review. He also reaffirmed the company's commitment to keep its headquarters in the UK.

Mr Stahel will leave as soon as a successor is found. Asked if he was sad to be leaving Shire, the company he has grown from having revenues of £2m to almost £700m this year, Mr Stahel said: "Chief executives are not allowed to have too many emotions. My job is to continue to ensure good results until my last day at Shire, and that they continue beyond that date."

Robin Gilbert, an analyst at Numis, said management had been unable to convince most of those present at yesterday's meeting that there were no disputes over strategy or acquisitions, as was being claimed. Mr Gilbert said: "They were papering over the cracks. The board is probably the most unrepresentative out of any FTSE 100 company. They are almost all American when 50 per cent of the shareholders are from the UK, and they are almost all representing their own shareholdings."