BRIEF—ABPI names Dr Richard Torbett as new CEO

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has appointed Dr Richard Torbett as its new chief executive from January 1, 2020.

He takes over from Mike Thompson, who has served as chief executive since March 2016.

Richard Torbett joined the ABPI in July 2015 and is currently executive director of economic, health and commercial policy where he was responsible for negotiating the 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Medicine Pricing and Access.

Dr Torbett has spent the last 14 years working across a number of senior roles in the pharmaceutical industry, both in the UK and internationally, including as chief economist at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and senior director and head of international affairs at Pfizer.

Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, he worked as a government economist. He was a senior economist at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the UK.

As a government official, he held a number of posts at DTI, Cabinet Office and the European Commission.

Dr Torbett was appointed following a competitive, external recruitment process with an executive search agency and was unanimously selected by the ABPI board as the ABPI’s new CEO.