J&J picks Bayer executive Peterson as group worldwide chairman Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:31am EDT (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) said Sandra Peterson, currently a Bayer executive, will take on the new role of group worldwide chairman, overseeing a consent decree at the company's troubled manufacturing plants that produce over-the-counter drugs. Beginning December 1, Peterson will oversee information technology and the global supply chain, as well as J&J's vast consumer business, which makes products including Tylenol, baby shampoo and Band-Aids, the company said on Thursday. Peterson, 52, will also become a member of the J&J executive committee, the company said. Shares of J&J (JNJ.N) were up 9 cents at $68.24 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. J&J's McNeil Consumer Healthcare has been operating under a consent decree after three of its manufacturing plants failed to curb quality lapses that had sparked a flood of recalls for its nonprescription medicines, such as Tylenol painkiller. Over the past couple of years, faulty manufacturing has prompted J&J's McNeil unit to recall millions of bottles and packages of Tylenol, Motrin, Rolaids, Benadryl and other products. Some of these recalls affected the company's distribution worldwide. Peterson is chairman and chief executive officer of Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) affiliate Bayer CropScience AG, based in Europe, a position she has held since 2010. Before that, she was president and CEO of Bayer Medical Care and president of Bayer HealthCare AG's Diabetes Care Division. Prior to joining Bayer in 2005, Peterson spent 5 years in leadership roles at Medco Health Solutions. Reporting by Debra Sherman; Editing by Bernadette Baum