French drugmaker Sanofi has named Olivier Brandicourt, a Paris-educated doctor and head of Bayer's healthcare arm, as its chief executive officer.
Mr Brandicourt had been widely tipped to become Sanofi's new boss, a position that opened when Chris Viehbacher was suddenly sacked last year.
The 59-year-old Frenchman, who researched tropical and infectious diseases before joining the corporate pharmaceutical world, will take over as chief executive on April 2, Sanofi said.
“Olivier Brandicourt’s strong experience combined with his international profile, deep knowledge of US and emerging healthcare markets, and his capability to unite teams will provide new dynamism to Sanofi’s strategy of diversification and innovation,” Sanofi chairman Serge Weinberg said in a statement.
Mr Weinberg, caretaker CEO since Mr Viehbacher’s ouster, told shocked investors in October by saying that Mr Viehbacher had been a poor communicator with the board and must take responsibility for faltering US sales of key diabetes drug Lantus.
Mr Weinberg said two weeks ago that a successor would be named by the end of March.
Sanofi is France’s biggest listed company, employing 27,500 people in France, making up a third of the country’s pharmaceuticals jobs and a quarter of the company’s own worldwide workforce.
One of Mr Viehbacher’s mistakes was to develop a politically explosive plan to cut French jobs without telling the board.
Mr Brandicourt, a 28-year industry veteran who also previously held an executive position at Pfizer, spent his early adult life in France and should be attuned to national sensitivities.
“He has the necessary criteria to do this job,” said Norbert Janisch, fund manager with Raiffeisen Capital Management in Vienna.
“First of all, he is French and therefore well connected in France. And second, he knows the American market, which is important for a large pharmaceutical company.”
Germany's Bayer had recruited Mr Brandicourt only 17 months ago from Pfizer.
Bayer said that executive board member Werner Baumann will replace Brandicourt as healthcare division head, in addition to maintaining his responsibilities for group strategy, portfolio management and European markets.
This will likely bolster his position as front runner to replace Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers, who last year said he would step down at the end of 2016.
Reuters
