Johnson & Johnson CEO William Weldon was asked yesterday to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for a second time to testify on product recalls at its McNeil Consumer Healthcare subsidiary in Fort Washington, Pa. The hearing is scheduled for June 30 in Washington.
Recall that Weldon declined to testify previously claiming he was recovering from back surgery and could not make the trip (see “JNJ’s CEO Weldon May Send Underling to Congress. The Aching Back Excuse“). Instead, he sent Colleen A. Goggins, Worldwide Chairman, Consumer Group, Johnson & Johnson, in his place. Ms. Goggins looked like a deer caught in the headlights as she faced lawmakers at that hearing (see “Parallels Between BP and J&J“).
This time, Weldon should take notice of the attachment to the invitation that says “Witnesses with disabilities should contact Committee staff to arrange any necessary accommodations.” [See “The Video Option” at end of this post.]
I think that Weldon should take his medicine like a man and testify in person. What do you think? Please take my little poll and let me know:
| Should J&J’s CEO William Weldon Appear Before Congress as Requested? | |
| Yes | |
| No | |
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The Video Option
Aileen Katcher (@AKatcher), a healthcare PR specialist, tweeted me: “You don’t give the option of appearing via video feed should his condition require.” Maybe that would be an option, but I am afraid Weldon might emulate Clinton and respond to inquires about McNeil’s “phantom recall” with “It depends on what you mean by ‘recall'”. [For more on the phantom recall, see “Parallels Between BP and J&J“.]
