THE WEEK IN REVIEW, WITH AN EYE ON WHAT’S NEXT

 PERRIGO CEO TO RETIRE BY END OF JULY

THE NEWS: Murray Kessler plans to retire this summer as CEO at Perrigo Co. plc after overhauling and better positioning the company for growth. A former tobacco industry executive, Kessler led and executed a plan after he took over as CEO in October 2018 that transformed Perrigo into what he labeled a “self-care” company focused on producing over-the-counter medications and products intended to help consumers maintain their health. e transformation included 14 mergers and acquisitions and recon guring Perrigo’s product portfolio.

WHY IT MATTERS: Under Kessler’s transformation plan, Perrigo’s acquisitions have included the $750 million deal in 2019 for Ranir Global Holdings LLC, a Grand Rapids-based maker of oral care products, and the $1.9 billion transaction for Paris, France-based HRA Pharma in 2022.

 A pro le in the Traverse City special section on May 8 of Amanda Danielson, the owner of the Trattoria Stella who had bought an abandoned 20-acre farm on Old Mission Peninsula, misstated her plans for the property. e story said she

 GM HIRES APPLE CLOUD SERVICES EXEC MIKE ABBOTT

THE NEWS: General Motors Co. said Tuesday that it has hired Mike Abbott, who led cloud services at Apple Inc., to be its executive vice president of software. Abbott, 50, will begin in the newly created role May 22, reporting to CEO Mary Barra, GM said. He will lead a reorganized software team focused on information and digital technology, software-de ned vehicle and operating systems, and digital business.

WHY IT MATTERS: Abbott’s hire comes shortly after GM said its upcoming electric vehicles would not o er Apple CarPlay or Android Auto smart- wanted to build greenhouses and employee housing on land that was not plantable. at was her original intention but in the face of local opposition, she has dropped those plans. Michigan State University researchers will experiment by graft- phone connectivity. e automaker instead plans to implement its own embedded software solution, developed with Google Inc.

 ESPERION REPORTS FIRST QUARTER LOSS

THE NEWS: Ann Arbor-based drugmaker Esperion continues to bleed cash as it battles in court with large pharmaceutical partner Daiichi Sankyo. Esperion (NASDAQ: ESPR) reported a net loss of $61.7 million for the rst quarter of 2023 on revenue of $24.3 million, compared to a net loss of $56.7 million on revenue of $18.8 million during the same quarter a year ago.

WHY IT MATTERS: Much of the decline was driven by rising research and development costs, which ballooned to $31.4 million in the quarter, compared to $24.3 million during the same quarter last year, due to testing of its cholesterol drug Nexletol in Europe and regulatory submission preparation.

ing two grape varieties onto four root stocks, not ve. e story referred to Danielson and her mentor, Madeline Tri on, as wine sommeliers. Danielson is an advanced sommelier; Tri on is a master sommelier.

People

Nick Gilbert remembered as a ‘mensch,’ optimist

Detroit billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert, his wife Jennifer, as well as their children shared their memories of Nick Gilbert during a funeral service Tuesday at Temple Israel in West Bloom eld.

Nick Gilbert died May 6 at the age of 26 following a lifelong struggle with a rare genetic disorder called neuro bromatosis, or NF1. e disease causes tumors to grow in nerve tissue throughout the body.

Gilbert was remembered as someone who never let his disease interfere with his way of living; someone who constantly ate macaroni and cheese, and by Rabbi Jennifer Lader as a “mensch,” the Yiddish phrase for someone viewed as being of high integrity.

“In a world of mistrust and con ict, Nicolas Gilbert was an example of authenticity and sincerity,” said his father, the founder and chairman of Detroit-based Rocket Companies Inc., the parent company of Rocket Mortgage and several other consumer nancial service companies.

“Comfortable in his own skin, the con dence of an Olympic athlete, zero insecurities about his physical condition and sometimes debilitating and physical e ects. You never got 50% of Nick or 75% or even 99%. If you engaged with him, you got 100% all Nick all the time. Even when he bordered on boasting, it was done in a funny, humble and charismatic way.”

“In a world of mistrust and con ict, Nicolas Gilbert was an example of authenticity and sincerity,”

Dan Gilbert said Tuesday of his son, who died May 6. |