---
schema_version: "secwatch.filing_event.v1"
accession: "0000950103-26-015460"
form_type: "8-K"
ticker: "BLCO"
cik: "0001860742"
company_name: "Bausch & Lomb Corp"
filed_at: "2026-10-13T10:09:48+00:00"
generated_at: "2026-10-13T10:15:24.634067+00:00"
event_type: "leadership"
sentiment: "negative"
materiality_score: 0.8
calibrated_materiality_score: 0.8
confidence: "high"
source: SEC EDGAR
---

# Bausch + Lomb CEO Brent Saunders exits with $75.5M separation; Thomas Appio named interim CEO

## Summary
- Brent Saunders departs as CEO and board member effective Oct 12, 2026 by mutual agreement; company says exit is not due to any dispute or disagreement.
- Separation Agreement: $75.5M lump-sum cash plus up to $50,000 in attorneys' fees; two years of group health plan participation; no other severance under his 2023 Employment Agreement.
- All of Saunders' outstanding equity awards (options, RSUs, matching RSUs, PSUs, leveraged PSUs, New Hire Grants) were forfeited and cancelled upon signing.
- Thomas J. Appio, BLCO board chairman since August 2026 and Bausch Health CEO since 2022, becomes interim CEO immediately while remaining CEO of controlling shareholder BHC.
- BLCO and BHC expect to raise FY2026 adjusted EBITDA excluding Acquired IPR&D guidance on preliminary Q3 results; details at the Oct. 28, 2026 Q3 report.

## SEC filing metadata
- accession: 0000950103-26-015460
- form_type: 8-K
- ticker: BLCO
- cik: 0001860742
- company_name: Bausch & Lomb Corp
- filed_at: 2026-10-13T10:09:48+00:00
- event_type: leadership
- sentiment: negative
- materiality_score: 0.8
- calibrated_materiality_score: 0.8
- confidence: high
- sec_items: 5.02, 7.01, 9.01
- EDGAR index: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1860742/000095010326015460/0000950103-26-015460-index.htm
- EDGAR primary document: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1860742/000095010326015460/dp254863_8k.htm

## Machine-readable alternates
- HTML: https://secwatch.observer/filing/0000950103-26-015460
- JSON: https://secwatch.observer/filing/0000950103-26-015460.json
- Plain text: https://secwatch.observer/filing/0000950103-26-015460.txt

## Key facts
- Executive change
  Thomas J. Appio was appointed as interim Chief Executive Officer at Bausch & Lomb Corp.
  - Action: appointed
  - Role: interim Chief Executive Officer
  source text: Thomas J. Appio, who is currently Chairman of the Board, was appointed to serve as the interim Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective as of October 12, 2026.
  evidence_url: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1860742/000095010326015460/0000950103-26-015460-index.htm
- Executive change
  Brent Saunders departed as Chief Executive Officer at Bausch & Lomb Corp.
  - Action: depart
  - Role: Chief Executive Officer
  source text: On October 12, 2026, Bausch + Lomb Corporation (the “Company”) announced that Brent Saunders, Chief Executive Officer of the Company and a member of the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”), and the Board have mutually agreed that Mr. Saunders will depart from the Company, effective as of October 12, 2026 (the “Separation Date”).
  evidence_url: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1860742/000095010326015460/0000950103-26-015460-index.htm

This AI-assisted summary is a reading aid. Review the linked SEC EDGAR filing before relying on any specific claim.