Judy Brown grows bottom line

Judy Brown grows bottom line

Judy Brown.

Editor’s note: Each issue of the Influential Women enewsletter will feature a profile of one of the Business Journal’s reigning 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan. The profile first appeared in the event program.

Judy Brown can justly take credit for Allegan-based Perrigo Co.’s financial growth spurt.

As CFO, Brown enabled Perrigo, the world’s largest manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, nutritional products, active pharmaceutical ingredients and consumer products for the store brand market, to reach $3 billion in revenue with a five-year compound annual growth of 17.24 percent. Moreover, Perrigo’s stock price has steadily increased to a value approximately six times the price it was when Brown assumed her current role.

Although Brown is Perrigo’s first female CFO, she foresees many other women in the pipeline for senior management positions. She’s led the way, holding various senior-level positions in finance and operations. Brown, for instance, lived in Germany from 1993 to 1998 and worked as a manager within the audit practice for Ernst & Young offices in Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

She then lived and worked in Italy from 1998 to 2002 while serving in finance, operations and product development leadership roles in Whirlpool’s European headquarters.

Brown received a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of Illinois and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

She is a board member of Belden Corp., University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, Michigan Economic Development Foundation, Perrigo Charitable Foundation, National Association of Corporate Directors and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.