Global Pharmaceutical Leadership Shake-up: Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, AbbVie and Others Announce Key Executive Appointments and Transitions

China

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson announced that Zhou Mintao will assume the role of President of its MedTech China division starting July 25, 2024, reporting to Vishnu Karla, Chairman of the Asia-Pacific region. With nearly 30 years of experience at Johnson & Johnson, Zhou has driven business growth and innovation across multiple leadership positions. He also previously served as President of Greater China for Cytiva (formerly part of Danaher) and successfully integrated Pall Life Sciences.

Thermo Fisher

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that Miguel Faustino has been appointed as President of China. The former China President, Hanson Feng, will return to Singapore. Over the past three years, Miguel Faustino served as President of the Chemical Analysis division within Thermo Fisher's Analytical Instruments Group; prior to that, he held senior global leadership roles in pharmaceutical services, chromatography and mass spectrometry, as well as corporate strategy and business development. Before joining Thermo Fisher, Miguel Faustino was a management consultant at Bain & Company and worked in financial planning and analysis at PerkinElmer.

Bayer

Bayer's current General Manager of Prescription Drugs in South China, Yang Hao, will assume the role of General Manager of Core Product Business under the new structure, effective from August 1st. His workplace will be in Shanghai, and he will report directly to Zhou Xiaolan, President of Bayer Group's Greater China Region. The industry believes that this is a strengthening and optimization of the leadership for core product business under Bayer China’s new operational model. Yang Hao joined Bayer in 2015 with 26 years of experience in the pharmaceuticals industry. Prior to joining Bayer, he held managerial positions at Eli Lilly and Roche.

Philips

Philips announces that Ms. Liu Ling will assume the role of President for Greater China effective today and join the Global Executive Committee, reporting to CEO Roy Jakobs. She succeeds Mr. Warren He, who is retiring, and will work with him to ensure a smooth transition. Since joining Philips in 1998, Liu has gained experience across multiple regions and roles, most recently serving as Chief Commercial Officer for Greater China.

Hengrui Pharma

Hengrui Pharma Appoints Xu Xuejian as Vice General Manager and Chief Quality Officer. Hengrui Pharma announced that Xu Xuejian has officially joined the company as Vice General Manager and Chief Quality Officer, taking full responsibility for the company’s quality management. Prior to joining Hengrui, Xu Xuejian served as Chief Quality Officer and Senior Vice President at WuXi Biologics; Vice President of the Quality Department and U.S. Regulatory Affairs at WuXi AppTec; Senior CMC Reviewer at the U.S. FDA; Director of Quality at U.S. PII Formulation Development Company; Founder and President of Shanghai Fulicon Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.; Senior Manager of Quality Assurance at Wyeth in the U.S.; and Senior Scientist at Genzyme in the U.S.

BeOne Medicines

Wang Aijun Leaves, BeOne Medicines Appoints Aaron Rosenberg as Chief Financial Officer. Since 2021, Rosenberg has served as Senior Vice President and Corporate Treasurer of Merck & Co. Before serving as Merck's Corporate Treasurer, Mr. Rosenberg was the company’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Planning from 2018 to 2021, leading the company-wide business transformation team and serving as head of financial planning and analysis. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Rosenberg served as Vice President and Finance Head of Merck Animal Health. He joined Merck in 2003.

Guangzhou Baiyun Mountain

Li Chuyuan, Chairman of Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Group, Resigns

Walvax Bio

Wosen Bio President Runsheng Jiang Resigns; On the Same Day, Wosen Bio Appoints Former Marketing Director Wei Yao as President. Runsheng Jiang has served as the president of Wosen Bio since 2016, with the original term set to end on October 12, 2025. Before joining Wosen Bio, Wei Yao held positions as Sales Manager and Vice President at Dalian Hanxin Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Since 2016, he has served as Wosen Bio’s Marketing Director, overseeing the company's marketing operations.

Akeso Biopharma

Akeso Appoints Bing C. Wang as Chief Financial Officer. Akeso announced that Dr. Bing C. Wang has been appointed as the company's Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Akeso, Bing C. Wang served as the Chief Financial Officer at Cellectis, a French biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing CAR-T cell and cancer immunotherapy based on gene-editing platforms.

JACOBIO

JACOBIO Announces the Appointment of Dr. Zhongxu Ren as Vice President of Chemistry

Pamu Medical

Pulnovo Medical announced that Ms. Wu Xiaolin (Lynne Wu) has officially joined the company as Chief Financial Officer, taking full responsibility for the company's financial management and capital market operations. Prior to joining Pulnovo Medical in the first quarter of 2024, she served as a sponsor and Executive Director of Morgan Stanley's healthcare team, leading and successfully completing several significant capital market transactions. Before that, she held various management positions at world-renowned companies such as McKinsey, Jefferies, and HSBC.

Cross-border

AbbVie

AbbVie Welcomes New CEO. AbbVie announced that Robert A. Michael has taken on the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and joined the AbbVie Board of Directors. As previously announced, Mr. Michael succeeds Richard A. Gonzalez, who has served as CEO since the company's founding in 2013. Mr. Gonzalez has become the Executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Michael previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer of AbbVie and has been a long-standing member of AbbVie’s executive leadership team. His career began at Abbott.

Roopal Thakkar, M.D., Senior Vice President of Global Therapeutics and Chief Medical Officer at AbbVie, has been appointed Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer. He joined Abbott/AbbVie in 2003 as a member of the Physician Development Program. In 2019, Dr. Thakkar served as Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs and R&D Quality Assurance, and in 2022 was appointed Senior Vice President of Development and Regulatory Affairs and Chief Medical Officer. In 2023, Dr. Thakkar was named Senior Vice President of Global Therapeutics and Chief Medical Officer.

Pfizer

After 15 years at Pfizer, Suneet Varma, the current Commercial President of Pfizer's Oncology division, has decided to retire. Taking over Varma’s position will be Dr. Tina Deignan, who most recently served as the Senior Vice President of Novartis’ U.S. Oncology business. Dr. Deignan also spent 15 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she worked primarily in the company’s oncology division. Deignan will officially assume her new role this fall, while Varma will continue working at Pfizer until early 2025 to ensure a smooth transition.

Pfizer announced that its Chief Scientific Officer and President of Research and Development, Mikael Dolsten, will leave the company after serving for over 15 years. Pfizer will initiate an external recruitment process lasting several months to identify a new Chief Scientific Officer, a move expected to continue into early next year. Dolsten will assist in the search and remain in his current role until a successor is in place, ensuring any necessary transition is completed. Dolsten joined Pfizer in 2009 following the acquisition of Wyeth, taking on the role of President of Worldwide Research and Development. During his tenure at Pfizer, the company received approvals for more than 35 drugs and vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine developed in collaboration with German pharmaceutical company BioNTech.

Gilead

Gilead Announces Current Chief Medical Officer Merdad Parsey to Leave the Company at the Beginning of 2025

INOVIO

INOVIO Announces Appointment of Steven Egge as Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to joining INOVIO, Mr. Egge worked at Sumitomo Pharma (formerly Myovant Sciences, acquired by Sumitovant Biopharma, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Pharma, in 2023). Mr. Egge spent 20 years at Merck & Co., where he held various senior commercial leadership roles. After Merck, Mr. Egge served as Senior Vice President at Genfit Corp. Additionally, Curve appoints Simon Jones as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO). Simon has over 20 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He previously held an executive position at SpyBiotech, overseeing finance and operations, and prior to that, he served as CFO at Karus Therapeutics for nearly a decade. Simon has also served as CFO for several early-stage life science companies, including Eykona Technologies and Glide Pharmaceutical Technologies.

Cordia

Caidya Appoints Barbara Lopez Kunz as Chief Executive Officer. Caidya announced a management adjustment, with Barbara Lopez Kunz set to assume the role of CEO on September 1, 2024. Dr. Ling Shi Tan, the current Chairman and CEO, will transition to the role of Executive Chairman of the Board. Kunz has held significant profit and loss responsibilities at companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, DuPont, and ICI (now AstraZeneca), as well as nonprofit organizations like Battelle and DIA.

I-Mab

Nasdaq-listed I-Mab announced key senior management changes. Wei Fu has replaced Dr. Pamela M. Klein as Chairman of the Board. Wei Fu has been a member of the I-Mab Board since June 2018 and also serves as CEO of CBC Group, the founding and largest shareholder of I-Mab. Raj Kannan has stepped down as CEO of I-Mab, and Dr. Xi-Yong (Sean) Fu has taken over as interim CEO. Dr. Sean previously held key management positions at several pharmaceutical companies, including Merck and Luye Pharma.

Boots

Sebastian James, the head of British pharmacy chain Boots, is set to step down; the company's parent firm, Walgreens Boots Alliance, is facing difficulties. James will leave his position as Managing Director of Boots in November, following a deadlock in plans to either sell the company or take its shares public. Like other pharmacies, Walgreens Boots Alliance is also grappling with declining prescription drug revenue, which has long been a primary driver of sales.

Grifols

Spanish pharmaceutical company Grifols SA appoints a Bank of America executive as new CFO. Rahul Srinivasan will assume the CFO position on September 16, succeeding Arturo Arroyo, who is retiring after serving as CFO for 17 years. Srinivasan previously served as Head of Leveraged Finance and Capital Markets EMEA at Bank of America.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc announced that Samantha Pearce, Senior Vice President (SVP) of Europe and International, has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), effective August 1, 2024. Ms. Pearce joined Jazz in 2020 as the Senior Vice President of Europe and International. Prior to joining Jazz, she held key positions at Celgene, AstraZeneca, and DuPont Pharmaceuticals.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical

Chairman and President of Japan's Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Resign. Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Holds Emergency Board Meeting. Due to the health issues caused to consumers by the company’s red yeast-containing health supplements, Chairman Kobayashi Kazumasa and President Kobayashi Akihiro have resigned. In March, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical decided to urgently recall three of its red yeast-containing health products. In July, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare confirmed five more deaths in the country suspected to be linked to the consumption of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical’s red yeast supplements, bringing the total number of related deaths to 81.