Ray Jordan, a prominent pharmaceutical PR exec who leads global corporate communications and public affairs for Johnson & Johnson, is slated to exit for a top corporate affairs slot at biotech giant Amgen in early October.

Jordan
Jordan
Jordan, corporate VP of PA and corporate comms. at J&J, exits the company after nine years and a tumultuous recent few amid several high-profile recalls and the retirement of CEO William Weldon in April.

Jordan is set to join Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Oct. 1 as senior VP, corporate affairs, a new position reporting to president and CEO Robert Bradway. He oversees internal and external communications, issues management and philanthropy.

David Polk, who was executive director of corporate communications at Amgen, joined Weber Shandwick’s corporate practice in Chicago in January as an executive VP. Phyllis Piano stepped down as VP/corporate comms. in September 2011.

Prior to J&J, Jordan was VP/comms. and information at Pfizer and chaired the drug industry trade group PhRMA’s public affairs unit. He started out as a journalist before moving to the healthcare sector with Bristol-Myers.

Bill Price, VP of media relations for J&J, told O'Dwyer's the company has not named a replacement for Jordan. "His direct reports will report to Michael Sneed, VP of corporate affairs," he said. "Other organizational decisions will be announced in the future."

Amgen had Q2 revenue of $4.2B on net income of nearly $1.3B.