Move of Bayer’s Olivier Brandicourt to become Sanofi CEO confirmed

Confirming what the media had been saying most of the week, French pharma major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) late yesterday said that Olivier Brandicourt will become the firm’s chief executive, effective April 2.

Dr Brandicourt, a Frenchman and a trained physician, is currently chairman of the board of management of Germany’s Bayer HealthCare and member of the executive council of Bayer AG (BAYN: DE), having joined Bayer in November 2013. Having begun his industrial career in 1987 at Parke-Davis/Warner-Lambert, he subsequently joined Pfizer, where he held positions of increasing responsibility, becoming a member of its Executive Leadership Team in 2010. He faces the challenge of restoring stability to Sanofi’s management after the upheaval of recent months and overseeing a series of product launches that are crucial to the company’s prospects of fresh growth.

Serge Weinberg, chairman of the board of directors of Sanofi, and interim CEO since the ousting last October of Christopher Viehbacher, said: "Sanofi undertook a rigorous selection process to identify the right person to lead Sanofi forward at an important time for our company. I am very pleased that Olivier Brandicourt will be the next chief executive officer of Sanofi. Olivier Brandicourt's strong experience combined with his international profile, deep knowledge of US and emerging health care markets, and his capability to unite teams will provide new dynamism to Sanofi's strategy of diversification and innovation."