Johnson & Johnson promoted the heads of its medical device unit and its pharmaceuticals division to vice chairmen on Wednesday, a move that could put them in competition to succeed Chief Executive and Chairman William Weldon.

The diversified healthcare company, which has been strapped with repeated recalls of its consumer products in the past year, said Alex Gorsky - its global chairman of medical devices and diagnostics - and Sheri McCoy - global chair of pharmaceuticals - become vice chairs of the executive committee and join Weldon in an expanded office of the chairman. The moves are effective Jan. 3. Wall Street has been expecting Weldon to retire in the next year or so, although some analysts have predicted he could remain a bit longer in an attempt to put the company's troubled consumer products division back into order.