Major Leadership Shuffles at Novartis, Takeda, Fresenius Kabi, and Abbott Amid Strategic Restructuring

Recently, several multinational pharmaceutical companies have undergone significant personnel changes: the head of Novartis' Oncology and Hematology Division has resigned; the position of Head of Takeda's Oncology Division has finally been filled after being vacant for 2 months; Fresenius Kabi China has replaced its Chief Financial Officer; Abbott's Global Vice President has resigned...

Head of Novartis Oncology and Hematology Division Departs

Novartis Oncology (China) General Manager Isabel Afonso announced a personnel change to employees. Xia Shaofei, the current head of the Hematology Business Unit of Novartis Oncology (China), has decided to leave Novartis to pursue external career opportunities. Wang Wei, the current head of the North 1 Region of the Hematology Business Unit, will temporarily take over his position and fully manage all operations of the market and promotion teams within the Hematology Business Unit.

It is reported that the position of the head of the Blood Division will be openly recruited through internal and external channels.

Xia Shaofei graduated from the School of Pharmacy at Shanghai Medical University with a degree in pharmacy, and later pursued graduate studies at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. In 2000, after graduation, Xia joined Novartis Pharmaceuticals. In 2005, he left Novartis to seek external development opportunities and subsequently worked for GSK, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson Medical, and B. Braun Medical. He held positions such as sales representative, product manager, marketing manager, marketing director, and therapeutic area business director.

In early 2018, Xia Shaofei returned to Novartis Pharmaceuticals, serving as the head of the metabolism product line and the marketing leader of the Essential Disease Business Unit; On September 15, 2020, Xia Shaofei was transferred from Novartis Pharmaceuticals to Novartis Oncology, serving as the head of the Hematology Business Unit.

Wang Wei graduated from the Pharmaceutics major at Shenyang Pharmaceutical University. He joined Novartis in 2015 and has held positions such as Brand Head of the Hematology Marketing Department at Novartis Oncology (China) and Head of the Regional Marketing Department. His current position is Head of the North Region 1 in the Hematology Business Unit. Prior to joining Novartis Oncology, he served as Brand Manager and Senior Market Manager for the Central Nervous System Pipeline in the Strategic Marketing Department at Xi'an Janssen.

Novartis Innovative Pharmaceuticals business is currently divided into two major business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Among them, the sales revenue in the Chinese market was 3.052 billion US dollars, increasing by 18% year-on-year, accounting for 6% of Novartis' global total income.

Head of Takeda China Oncology Business Unit Confirmed

As of December 31 last year, following the departure of Huang Haoyu, the former head of Takeda China's Oncology Division, this key position had remained vacant—now, it has finally been filled.

Recently, Takeda China announced the appointment of Wei Yan as the head of the Oncology Business Unit.

Yan Wei has worked at MSD, Novartis, and Pfizer, responsible for multiple therapeutic areas. In April 2020, she joined Takeda, serving as the head of the Digestive and Internal Medicine Business Unit. Yan Wei's former position will initiate an internal recruitment process.

Last year, Huang Haoyu left Takeda China to join Sino-American R&D Pharmaceuticals as CEO just six months after joining Takeda China. Previously, he served as General Manager of Baxter China's Renal Business Unit, General Manager of AbbVie Taiwan, Vice President of Roche China's Oncology Business Unit, General Manager of IMS Health Taiwan, and Head of Novartis' Solid Tumor Division, among others.

Fresenius Kabi China Replaces Chief Financial Officer

On February 28, Fresenius Kabi China announced a senior management change to its employees. Yang Kai, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Fresenius Kabi China, decided to leave the company on March 31, 2022, to pursue external career development opportunities.

Yang Kai joined Fresenius Kabi China in 2016 as the Chief Financial Officer. It is reported that the successor has been determined, and Fresenius Kabi will announce it on a selected date.

Abbott Replaces Core Diagnostics President in China

On February 24, an internal email from Abbott announced changes in the organizational structure of its Core Diagnostics Division. After leading the Core Diagnostics Division for more than two years, Tony Chan, Abbott's Global Vice President and President of China Core Diagnostics, has decided to pursue external opportunities.

Fanny Chen Has Been Appointed as President of Abbott China's Core Diagnostics from Within the Group, Reporting to Greg Ahlberg, Senior Vice President of Global Core Laboratory Diagnostics Business Commercial Operations.

Fanny Chen began her career at Abbott in 2001, serving in managerial roles across procurement, finance, supply chain, and manufacturing/quality. She is currently the Vice President of Supply Chain and Strategic Relations for Abbott's Nutrition Business in Greater China.

Smith & Nephew's New Global CEO to Take Office Next Month

Deepak Nath, President of Siemens Healthineers Global Diagnostics and Laboratory Diagnostics, will join Smith & Nephew in April as its Global CEO.

Before joining Siemens, Deepak Nath worked at Abbott for 10 years, serving as the President of Abbott's cardiovascular business; in January 2018, he joined Siemens Healthineers, taking on the role of President of the then-new Clinical Diagnostics business (Laboratory Diagnostics).

After the New Year, it has always been a period of frequent personnel changes in enterprises. Only in February, more than 40 senior executives from over 30 pharmaceutical companies experienced changes (see details in "40 Senior Executives Changes in 1 Month, Involving AZ, Bayer, Hengrui, etc."). Among them, there were both the loss of local pharmaceutical talents and the return flow of multinational pharmaceutical talents. Nowadays, many multinational pharmaceutical companies have initiated a new wave of personnel adjustments. For the pharmaceuticals industry, this might just be the beginning. What lies behind is the transformation pain of enterprises under the macro environment of the pharmaceuticals industry development, as well as the escalation of talent competition.

Editor: Eight Corners

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