Amgen’s ‘boomerang’ CFO reaps $12.5M in cash, retention bonuses

Dive Brief:

Amgen hired back alum Thomas Dittrich to replace the biotech giant’s retiring CFO Peter Griffith, effective Sept. 1, according to a securities filing and a press release. Dittrich will rejoin Amgen on July 1 as executive vice president.
In rejoining the company, Dittrich — currently based in Switzerland — will receive approximately $12.5 million in cash and retention bonuses to compensate him for forgone equity and incentive benefits from his current employer. This includes a one-time cash bonus of 4 million Swiss francs or CHF, about $5.1 million, as well as a two-year retention bonus of about $7.4 million, according to the filing. Dittrich will also receive a one-time award of restricted stock units valued at about $5.9 million, according to the filing.
Since leaving Amgen in 2014, Dittrich has served as CFO of three companies, most recently at the Switzerland-based dermatology company Galderma Group AG, according to the filing and his LinkedIn account. During his eight years at Amgen his roles included chief accounting officer and vice president of finance.

Dive Insight:

Dittrich, 62, is the latest so-called “boomerang” executive to return to his former employer as CFO. A boomerang employee or executive typically refers to someone who returns to a former employer to take a new or old role, according to a USC Online report.

In March gym operator Planet Fitness brought back former CFO Tom Fitzgerald to serve as interim finance chief and power management company Eaton rehired David Foster as its CFO roughly three years after he stepped down from the seat.

Dittrich’s compensation will include an annual base salary of CHF 1.1 million (about $1.36 million) for fiscal 2026. Dittrich’s predecessor’s compensation package last year totaled $8.6 million, including a $1.2 million salary.

Amgen’s current CFO is retiring after serving as the Thousand Oaks, California-based company since 2020. Previously Griffith spent 21 years at EY and earlier worked at Wedbush Securities where he was head of the investment banking division.

"We are grateful to Peter for his leadership and lasting impact on the company," said Amgen CEO Robert Bradway in a statement, adding that during his tenure Griffith supported “disciplined capital allocation” and advanced the company’s long-term growth strategy.

In the first quarter, Amgen’s revenues increased 6% year-over-year to $8.6 billion while GAAP earnings per share rose just 4% to $3.34, driven by higher operating income offset by net unrealized losses on equity investments, the company reported.

During a May 1 earnings call, Bradway said the company’s growth drivers set the company up well, noting that its drug pipeline includes a “differentiated treatment for obesity” called MariTide which Amgen is building capacity to bring to market. But the company is also grappling with headwinds related to 20 people in Japan who died after receiving Amgen’s rare disease drug Tavneos, CFO Dive’s sister publication BioPharma Dive reported this week.