Wyeth directors to join Pfizer board after merger

Frances Fergusson and John Mascotte, currently board directors at Wyeth, will join the Pfizer board when Pfizer's pending US$68bn acquisition of Wyeth closes in the fourth quarter.

Dr Fergusson is President Emeritus and professor of art at Vassar College, where she became the ninth president in 1986 and retired from that position after 20 years in July 2006. Prior to joining Vassar, she was provost and vice president for academic affairs at Bucknell University from 1982-1986. She was also on the Board of Overseers of Harvard University from 2002, concluding her service as its president in 2008.

Fergusson has been a director of Mattel since 2006. She was a director of HSBC Bank USA from 1990-2008, and a director of CH Energy from 1993-2002. In addition, she is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is on the board of directors of The Getty Trust, the board of trustees of The School of American Ballet, Second Stage Theatre, the National Humanities Center and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.

Mascotte retired as chief executive of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City after four years in 2001. He was chairman of Johnson & Higgins of Missouri from January 1996, and chief executive of The Continental Corporation, which merged with CNA in 1995.

Mascotte has also been a director of Hallmark Cards and its subsidiary Crown Media Holdings, where he was the chairman of their respective audit committees.

Mascotte has also served as chairman of Common Cents, a national non-profit organisation focused on the social development of children in US primary schools.