Wendel Barr has been named to the role of chief operating officer at Covance. Mr. Barr, who is currently president of Early Development North America, will assume operating responsibility for Covance’s business units worldwide and will report to Joe Herring, Covance’s chairman and chief executive officer. In addition, Mike Lehmann, currently general manager of the preclinical laboratory facility in Madison, WI, was named president of labs North America and will serve on Covance’s Global Leadership Council.

Mr. Barr joined Covance in 2000 as Vice President and General Manager of Labs North America. In 2003, he was promoted to his current role, overseeing the expansion of the Early Development North America operations in Madison, as well as planned construction in Chandler, AZ, and Manassas, VA. Prior to joining Covance, Mr. Barr was global vice president and general manager of Marconi Medical Systems. He also spent 15 years at GE in a broad variety of positions of increasing responsibility.

“These moves reflect the depth and strength of our leadership talent that enables us to promote executives from within Covance,” said Mr. Herring. “Wendel is a proven leader who has demonstrated exemplary management capabilities, a track record of accomplishment, and strong client focus, as reflected by the impressive growth and expansion of our Early Development North America operations. Wendel’s appointment will allow me to further focus on strategies that would continue to drive growth and deliver value to our clients, employees, and shareholders.”