Kenvue CEO Thibaut Mongon joins Yahoo Finance's Anjalee Khemlani on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to discuss the IPO of the Johnson & Johnson spinoff and the company's outlook in the personal pharmaceutical space.

Video Transcript

AKIKO FUJITA: Well, Johnson & Johnson's consumer health spin-off, Kenvue, is officially going public on the New York Stock Exchange today. Kenvue will now be the company behind brands like Tylenol, Band-Aid, and Listerine. Trading under the ticker, KVUE, shares were priced at $22 a share. And now you're seeing it up about 20% almost here on its initial day.

It is the biggest IPO in more than a year and we've got Yahoo Finance's Anjalee Khemlani on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with Kenvue's CEO. Anjalee.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: That's right, Akiko. I have here with me Thibaut Mongon, who used to head J&J's consumer segment and is now sliding into the CEO position of Kenvue. Thibaut, thank you so much for joining us today. Obviously, a really lovely start for you for the stock. More than you expected, I imagine?

THIBAUT MONGON: No. Thank you for having me. We are very excited. Today is a great day. We just listed Kenvue view for the first time, bringing it to life as the world's largest pure-play consumer health company. $15 billion in revenue, presence in 165 countries. So today millions of consumers have in their house Kenvue brand.

Think about Tylenol, Neutrogena, Band-Aid, Listerine, Aveeno. These are brands that have been with consumers for decades and sometimes for generations. And we are happy to bring Kenvue to the world today and make sure that we are excited about today, but also what lies ahead.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Absolutely. To your point, brands that people know very well. The company already valued close to $50 billion based on the IPO right now, largest this year. Really good start for the brand, but talk to me about separating from that legacy J&J brand, which is what these consumers know, and about how Kenvue now fits in this new consumer health market.

THIBAUT MONGON: Yeah, we do this from a position of strength. Kenvue have strong leadership positions across the different categories where we play. We are the only company our size covering all aspects of consumer health, self-care, skin health, essential health. But with the depth and expertise that we have because we have been in this space for 135 years. So that's what really makes Kenvue unique and that's what makes us very confident in our ability to thrive as a publicly traded company.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: How does it fit into the broader market? We know that GSK, for example, spun-off Haleon. And so there's examples of this, and they've been performing pretty strongly as well quarter-over-quarter. How do you think about investment, innovation, and the like when it comes to Kenvue moving forward?

THIBAUT MONGON: Yeah, we are very pleased with the portfolio we have. We are very well positioned in the categories where we play, but also the unique portfolio of iconic brands we have at Kenvue, and we see ample opportunity for our brands to continue to grow, to continue to innovate, so we can bring to consumers a product and solution they need to take better health-- better care of their health. And that's really our mission at Kenvue.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Almost like you're separating from the company. You're like a 16-year-old being given the keys to the car and you get to just take off, right?

THIBAUT MONGON: Yeah, a 135-year-old 16-year-old. Yes, we are going to be more focused with more agility. Really being able to focus on our mission to be close to our consumers and understand how we can innovate to better serve their needs.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: And I know this is just a starting off point. You obviously have build out. J&J still holding a majority stake in the company for the rest of the year. You're also building out a new space, a new headquarters. But in terms of looking at old J&J, there's also the talc situation, the litigation there.

You have the product coming under this new consumer brand, but you are indemnified against the case. Talk to me about the baby powder and baby products moving forward and the plans for them.

THIBAUT MONGON: Yeah. Let me be very clear. The liability in the US and Canada stays with J&J. So at Kenvue we are laser-focused on what we do best, building brands that have strong trust and leadership position with consumers. That's why we are focused on right now and we continue to evolve our portfolio to more natural, sustainable solutions. And that's what we will continue doing moving forward.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Tell me about the read on the market for consumers. What is it that you think they're looking for when it comes to the outlook of the brand development of what types of products you're looking to introduce. Anything new on the horizon?

THIBAUT MONGON: Yeah. There is no limit for you to take care of your own health and there is no limit for Kenvue to invent products and solutions that allow you to do that. So it is summer is coming. So if you take sunscreen, as an example, unfortunately, millions of Americans do not use sunscreen on a regular basis today.

So that's something that we look at at Kenvue. Our Neutrogena teams did step up and launch innovation with a new product. Neutrogena Invisible Defense that doesn't leave any residue on your skin, whatever your skin tone. And so that's going to be a great new reason for Americans to reconsider sunscreen and have a great summer thanks to Neutrogena.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: I may or may not be one of those people that skips out on sunscreen sometimes. OK. So final question for you. Going forward, you taking over at the helm of the company, is this a long-term takeover for you? Do you imagine you're going to be with the company for quite some time? Because you've already been with legacy J&J.

You've overseen the growth of the consumer business through the pandemic and everything. How do you feel about going forward?

THIBAUT MONGON: Well, very excited today, but also about the future what lies ahead for me, but also for the 22,000 team members who around the world work every single day to make sure that they help consumers realize the extraordinary power of everyday care. That brings them products and solutions that are grounded in science.

And those by doctors, health care professionals helping them take better care of their health. That's what we are focused on in Kenvue and we are very excited about it.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Love it. Well, Thibaut Mongon, new CEO of Kenvue. Congratulations on the IPO today. Seana, back to you.

SEANA SMITH: Great stuff, Anjalee. Great interview. Thanks so much. Kenvue shares up 20% today in their public debut.