The US Pharmacopoeial Convention (USP) has announced the promotion of  Richard Wailes to the position of acting executive vice president and chief operating officer of the organization.

He  is advancing from vice president of sales and marketing, a post he has held since 2002.   In his new role, he will continue to oversee the sales, marketing and customer service operations, and adds responsibility for information services; finance, accounting and treasury; and global communications.  

Wailes joined USP in January 1999 as director of human resources. He was promoted to vice president, human resources and client services in 2000. Prior to joining USP, he had experience in sales and marketing, operations, and human resources at Fortune 500 corporations, including IBM, Avery Dennison, WellPoint Health Networks, and Thermo Electron.

The new acting chief operating officer is an MBA from  Harvard Business School and a BA  in American studies from Amherst College.

USP is a nonprofit scientific organization that sets standards for the identity, strength, quality, and purity of medicines, food ingredients, and dietary supplement which are  enforceable in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration, and USP standards are used in more than 140 countries.