Stanley M. Bergman to retire as CEO of Henry Schein after more than 40 years

Stanley M. Bergman, longtime CEO of Henry Schein Inc., Long Island’s largest public company by revenue, will retire at the end of the year after several decades in the role, the company announced Tuesday.

Bergman, 75, who has served as chairman and CEO since 1989 and has been with the company for 45 years, will remain as chairman of the board, the Melville-based company said in a news release. The board is formally searching for his replacement and is considering both internal and external candidates.

“Henry Schein has been my professional home for 45 years, and I will conclude this chapter of my life with enormous gratitude for the opportunity to serve as CEO and with great confidence in the company’s future,” Bergman said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the board to identify my successor and effect a smooth transition."

Under Bergman, a native of South Africa, the global distributor of dental, veterinary and medical products and services grew its revenue from $225 million in 1989 to nearly $13 billion last year, the company said.

Henry Schein, which distributes branded and private-label products to dentists’ offices, has a market capitalization of nearly $9 billion.

Bergman's total CEO compensation for fiscal 2024 was $11.6 million, according to the company's 2025 proxy statement.

“We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Stan for his steadfast devotion to Henry Schein and for bringing his unique blend of strategic vision, attention to detail and entrepreneurship to the company,” Philip A. Laskawy, the company’s lead director, said in a statement.

Bergman looms large amid members of Long Island's executive business community. 

“Stanley Bergman created an economic engine, employing thousands of Long Islanders by shepherding Henry Schein's regional and global ascension in his nearly half century of dedicated leadership," Matt Cohen, president and CEO of the Long Island Association business group, said in a statement.

Bergman's retirement comes after a period of investor unrest in which a succession plan for the longtime CEO was desperately sought in 2024 by activist investors who wanted to see financial performance improve.

In January, Henry Schein received a $250 million investment from Manhattan-based private equity firm KKR to help the firm boost financial performance and make operational improvements. 

The investment followed an attempted shake-up of Henry Schein’s board of directors last fall by activist investor Ananym Capital Management LP. The firm pushed Henry Schein to make changes to its board, cut costs, improve profits and to develop a succession plan ahead of Bergman's eventual retirement. 

In a written analysis following Tuesday’s announcement, Jeffrey D. Johnson, a medical technology analyst at Baird, a Milwaukee-based investment firm, said Bergman’s retirement was expected, albeit not this early in the year.

There was “no major surprise with today's news other than it coming a few months earlier than we thought it might,” Johnson wrote.

Henry Schein “was also his baby, and his employees were his family,” Johnson wrote. “That's what has led to this company having so many senior/seasoned executives, but is also where a new CEO may have to rethink things.”

Shares of Henry Schein closed Tuesday at $70.64, down less than 1%.