People on the Move: AstraZeneca Begin Hunt for New CFO
We begin this week with news that AstraZeneca CFO, Simon Lowth, will leave the company at the end of October to take on the role of CFO for the BG Group.
“Simon has made a significant and lasting contribution to AstraZeneca’s success, helping put the company on a stronger footing for the future,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said.
Lowth has been at the Pharma giant since 2007 and will retain his responsibilities and continue to be a member of the Board until he leaves the company.
There is a new Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Administration at drug delivery device manufacturer – and recent entrant to the field of drugmaking – Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD).
Christopher Reidy, who has served as Corporate VP and CFO at ADP Corporation for the last six years, will be responsible for executive management and oversight of BD’s global financial operations and shared services.
Vincent Forlenza, BD’s CEO, said: “[Reidy] is well positioned to help drive BD’s strategy of accelerating growth through innovation, geographic expansion and operating effectiveness to create value for our customers and shareholders.”
Next up, EnVivo Pharmaceuticals welcomes Dr. Deborah Dunsire as its new President and CEO.
She joins the firm that specializes in finding novel therapies for CNS related diseases following eight years of being CEO at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, acquired in 2008 by Takeda in 2008 for $8.8bn.
Chairman of the Board, Dr. Stephen Knight praised Dunsire and said: “She joins EnVivo at a transformative point in the company’s evolution, as our lead product, EVP-6124, is in Phase 3 clinical trials in schizophrenia and will enter a Phase 3 clinical trial in Alzheimer’s disease later this year.”
After 13 years of serving on the Board, David Rickey has been named new Chairman at cell therapy developer Cytori Therapeutics, replacing Lloyd Dean who will continue to serve as an independent member of the Company’s Board of Directors.
“Mr. Rickey has played a critical role in Cytori’s growth by providing us with invaluable operational and governance experience during his 13 years as a director,” said Chris Calhoun, CEO of Cytori. “We are grateful to Mr. Dean for his leadership and service as Chairman for the past two years, and look forward his continued service to Cytori and our shareholders into the future.”
And finally for this week, Frank Condella has been appointed Non-executive Director at respiratory drug company Prosonix.
Currently President and CEO of Columbia Laboratories, Condella has over 30 years of experience in the industry.
Non-Exec Chairman, Ken Cunningham, welcomed the appointment adding: “We anticipate his wide-ranging experience in developing and commercialising respiratory and other speciality medicines will prove valuable as we advance our lead programmes towards the market.”
