May 2024 Executive Leadership Changes Across Global Pharma: Roche, Novartis, GSK, Sanofi, Pfizer, Medtronic, UCB, Azenta, and More

China

Novartis

Starting from June 1, Zhang Ying, the current President of Novartis China, has been appointed as the Chief Commercial Officer of Novartis International Business, leading the Novartis commercial launch strategy team and based in Basel, Switzerland. Leo Lee, the current President of Novartis Japan, has been appointed as the President of Novartis China. During the transition period, Keizo Miyazawa will serve as the interim President of Novartis Japan, overseeing Japanese operations. In 2020, Leo Lee joined Novartis, having previously held key positions at Merck, Allergan, and Merck Serono.

GSK

GSK China Leadership Change. Cecilia Qi, current GSK Vice President and General Manager of China, has been appointed as GSK Vice President of Greater China and Intercontinental Region and Head of Vaccines Business. Sherman Yu will take over her position as GSK Vice President and General Manager of China. Sherman Yu is currently GSK Vice President and General Manager of Taiwan, China. In 2022, Sherman Yu served as President of Sandoz Greater China before joining GSK. He also held business management and marketing roles at Wyeth and Pfizer Vaccines.

GSK China HR Head Victor Gu to Leave for External Opportunities; No Successor Announced Yet. During the Transition, Rosalind Sheng, Head of Talent, Leadership and Organization Development (TLOD) at GSK China, Will Serve as Interim HR Lead.

Fresenius Kabi Huari

Fresenius Kabi Huari General Manager Chen Guang will leave Huari Company, and his position will be temporarily assumed by Yang Weiping, President and Chairman of Fresenius Kabi China, with immediate effect. Chen Guang took over as General Manager of Fresenius Kabi Huari starting from July 1, 2022.

United Imaging

TAO CAI, Financial Controller and Chief Financial Officer of United Imaging, Resigns. From 2016 to 2020, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of United Imaging Ltd.; from 2020 to 2022, he served as Board Secretary and Chief Investment Officer of United Imaging. He has also held positions in companies such as Kodak (China) Co., Ltd., Vimicro Corporation, First Energy Systems Co., Ltd., and Sinobioway Medicine. Meanwhile, the company has agreed to appoint Mr. Wang Jianbao as its Financial Controller and Chief Financial Officer.

Luye Pharma

Luye Pharma Announces the Appointment of Liang Yi as Chief Operating Officer. He will oversee the group's strategic development, product line management, market planning, and new product launch strategies, while also supporting the development of market sales operations in China and internationally. Previously, Liang Yi had stepped down as the Chief Commercial Officer and President of Greater China at Zai Lab on April 30.

SINOBIOWAY Medicine

SINOBIOWAY Medicine announced that Liu Wenjun, director and deputy general manager, and WENYU ZHANG, deputy general manager, have submitted their resignation reports. Due to work changes, they applied to resign from their positions as deputy general managers. After the resignation, Liu Wenjun will continue to serve as a director within the company, while WENYU ZHANG will no longer hold any position within the company.

Cross-border

Pfizer

Former Citi Executive Andrew Baum to Serve as Pfizer Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer. Pfizer announced that Andrew Baum will serve as the company’s Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer and Executive Vice President, effective June 3. Prior to joining Pfizer, Baum served as Global Head of Healthcare and Managing Director of Equity Research at Citi.

Medtronic

Medtronic recently announced a series of senior leadership changes, including the appointment of Linnea Burman as the new Senior Vice President and President of the Neurovascular business, succeeding Dan Volz, who will transition to the role of Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Transformation. Additionally, Emily Elswick, formerly Vice President of the CEO’s Office, has been appointed President of the Pelvic Health business and will continue as a member of the Neuroscience leadership team. Prior to joining the Neurovascular division, Linnea Burman served as Vice President and General Manager of Enabling Technologies at Medtronic's Cranial & Spinal Technologies (CST) division. Elswick previously held the position of Vice President of the CEO’s Office at Medtronic, where she led the execution of the company’s strategic initiatives.

UCB

UCB is reshuffling its leadership team. The Belgian pharmaceutical company announced that Chief Medical Officer Iris Loew-Friedrich (later in 2024) and Chief Operating Officer Dhavalkumar Patel (June) are retiring. Alistair Henry, UCB's UK R&D head who has worked at the company for 26 years, will take over from Patel, who joined the company in 2017 after a decade at Novartis.

Amsel

Azenta CEO Stephen Schwartz, Ph.D., to Retire. Azenta announced a CEO succession plan under which Stephen Schwartz, Ph.D., CEO and member of the Board of Directors, will retire from Azenta after serving the company for over 14 years. Dr. Schwartz joined Azenta in April 2010 as President and was appointed CEO in August 2010. During his tenure as CEO of Azenta, he oversaw the sale of Azenta's semiconductor solutions business to Thomas H. Lee Partners for $3 billion and established Azenta as a global life sciences company with annual revenues exceeding $600 million.

Roche

Roche announced the retirement of James Sabry, Head of Pharma Partnering, and the appointment of Boris Začtra, currently Head of Group Business Development, as the new Head of Corporate Business Development. Boris Začtra joined Roche in Basel in 2012 and currently serves as Head of Group Business Development. Effective July 1, 2024, Boris Začtra will assume the role of Head of Corporate Business Development and become a member of the enlarged Corporate Executive Committee, reporting to CEO Thomas Schinecker, and will continue to be based in Basel.

RaceSanofi

Sanofi's Chief Strategy Officer Departs. Frank Nestle, the company’s Chief Strategy Officer and Global Head of Research, will leave the company. Nestle first took on these two roles in 2020 when he was the head of Sanofi’s Immunology and Inflammation Therapeutic Research Area. Nestle is a senior retired researcher from the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. He also trained as an immunologist and served as a professor at King's College London for 12 years.