Cooper Companies CEO Albert White departs; Walter Rosebrough named interim executive chair

Cooper Companies Chief Executive Albert G. White III has left the job and the board, and the contact lens and women's health company has named director Walter M. Rosebrough Jr. interim executive chair while it searches for a permanent CEO, according to an 8-K filed Tuesday.

White resigned from Cooper's board on Oct. 27 and stopped serving as president and chief executive the same day, the filing says. He has agreed to stay on full time as a strategic advisor through April 1, 2027, to help hand off his responsibilities.

Interim leadership and a search

Cooper's board appointed Rosebrough, 72, an independent director, as executive chair on an interim basis, effective immediately. The board also formed a CEO search committee made up of directors Lawrence E. Kurzius, Cynthia L. Lucchese and Teresa S. Madden to find a permanent chief executive.

Rosebrough has been on Cooper's board since January 2026. He is CEO emeritus of STERIS, the infection-prevention medical device company, which he ran as chief executive from 2007 to 2021, and earlier spent nearly two decades at Hill-Rom, including as president and CEO. He currently chairs the board of Varex Imaging.

The activist link

The filing notes that Rosebrough originally joined Cooper's board under a December 2025 letter agreement between the company and Browning West, LP, an investment firm. That ties the new interim leader to the agreement Cooper reached with the investor last year.

White's departure terms

White will receive the payments and benefits he is entitled to under his March 2024 employment agreement, as described in Cooper's 2026 proxy statement, the filing says. Cooper also expects to pay him additional compensation tied to his transition and advisory role, but those terms have not been set. The company said it will file an amended 8-K once they are.

What to watch

The filing does not give a reason for White's departure or a timeline for naming a successor. Investors will be watching who the search committee lands on, whether the board's makeup shifts further, and how the change affects strategy at a company that has faced investor pressure over the past year.

Sources

1. The Cooper Companies, Inc. Form 8-K (Items 5.02, 7.01), filed Oct. 27, 2026 (accession 0001193125-26-434317)

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