The two major pieces of news involved two countdowns: Merck, known as MSD in Europe, revealed what decision it would make on its CEO, as Ken Frazier approached 65 and the company's mandatory retirement policy suggested that he would have to step down as a result.
Pfizer had already taken this action with its CEO, Ian Reed, but now he has announced that he will step down from his position by January 2019 and has given his blessing to a successor.
The two major pieces of news involved two countdowns: Merck, known as MSD in Europe, revealed the decision it would make on its CEO, as Ken Frazier approached 65 and the company's mandatory retirement policy suggested that he would have to step down as a result.
Pfizer had already taken this action with its CEO, Ian Reed, but now he has announced that he will step down from his position by January 2019 and has given his blessing to a successor.
Ian Read will be stepping down as Pfizer’s CEO, after holding the position for eight years.
Read will hand the position to Bourla on January 1 2019 and will become executive chairman for an indefinite period of time.
Read has been at Pfizer since 1978 where he began his career as an operational auditor. He held various positions at the company, including being CFO of Pfizer Mexico and being county manager in Brazil. He was appointed executive vice president of Europe & Canada in 2000 and vice president of Pfizer in 2001. In 2006 Read took on the role of president of worldwide pharmaceutical operations.
As Bourla takes his place Read stated, “The company has come out of the abyss it was in, and is really poised for growth.”
Getting out of the ‘abyss’ is often attributed to the moves Read took to cut costs and expand into emerging markets. He also focused Pfizer on the development of prescription drugs and vaccines, moving it away from animal health, and other non-core business.
When Ian Read steps down, Albert Bourla will take his place as the next CEO of Pfizer.
Bourla has worked at Pfizer for 25 years, after joining in 1993 as the technical director for the company’s animal division in Greece.
He began work in the headquarters within the animal health division, which has since been spun out, before stepping into a succession of roles that led him to be COO in January 2018. One of those roles was leading Pfizer’s Innovative Health business that brought in $34bn (€29.5bn) in revenue.
Shantanu Narayan said in a statement, “Today’s leadership announcement [appointing Bourla] is part of a thoughtful, multi-year succession planning process.”
Merck’s CEO Kenneth Frazier will continue with the company despite his upcoming 65th birthday. The board of directors at Merck announced the company has changed its mandatory retirement age of 65.
Leslie Brun, speaking on behalf of Merck’s board of directors stated, “CEO succession has been our top priority, and removing the mandatory retirement policy enables the board to make the best decision concerning the timing of that transition.”
Frazier joined Merck as its CEO and chairman in 2011 and since then the company states that the company stock has roughly doubled. He originally joined Merck as general counsel in 1992 but, after directing the company’s defense of its anti-inflammatory drug, Vioxx, he climbed through the ranks.
“Ken’s unwavering dedication over the years to Merck’s mission of delivering innovative medicines and vaccines has helped drive value for shareholders and patients. We look forward to Ken’s continuing leadership and the impact it will have,” Brun said.
In 2006, Frazier was promoted to executive vice president while still remaining general counsel, then in 2010 he was named President of Merck until he became CEO in 2011.
Sebastian Guth has been appointed to serve as president of Bayer’s pharmaceuticals America division.
He has served as a member of Bayer’s executive committee since October 2015, where he served as executive VP and chief marketing officer for global pharmaceuticals and global general medicines.
Previous to his time on the executive committee, Guth held the position of CEO and president of Bayer Yakuhin, Bayer’s division based in Japan.
He started his career in pharmaceuticals with Schering AG in various senior roles.
According to Dieter Weinand, member of Bayer's board of management and president of pharmaceuticals, “Sebastian brings significant global experience gained from leadership roles in strategy, marketing, and business development and a proven track record of successful execution at the local level that will be crucial as we continue our growth in the US and across the Americas region."
He is succeeding former president Carsten Brunn.
Dietmar Siemssen has been appointed to CEO of Gerresheimer AG and will fill that position on November 1, 2018. The Supervisory Board of Gerresheimer AG approved the decision in September.
Siemssen held the position of CEO at Stabilus from 2011 to 2018, previous to this appointment. Before serving as CEO at Stabilus he worked for 19 years in different senior management positions at the Germany based company, Continental.
“By bringing Dietmar Siemssen on board, we have gained a seasoned manager with international experience to lead Gerresheimer AG for some time to come. He was instrumental in growing Stabilus’ business as well as successfully taking the company public and completing a major acquisition. I am confident that, under his leadership, Gerresheimer will continue on its current growth trajectory and effectively execute the strategic expansion plans underway,” said Axel Herberg, chairman of the supervisory board of Gerresheimer AG.
Exscientia, an articificial intelligence driven drug discovery company, made Georgy Egorov chief financial officer with immediate appointment.
Andrew Hopkins, the CEO of Exscientia said, “Georgy brings an impressive array of skills and experience, particularly in fund raising, corporate strategy and development.”
Egorov previously worked at CompareEuropeGroup where he served as CFO and board member. He has also spent 20 years working in the financial industry with positions at UBS as managing director, as well as executive director of equity and debt at Goldman Sachs.
Egorov stated, “As one of the pioneers in AI-driven drug discovery, Exscientia has the opportunity to play a pivotal role in changing the way drugs are developed.” He further commented that through his appointment he will aim to contribute to Exscientia’s presence within the life sciences industry.
