Sebastian Guth and Christine Roth take lead roles at new-look Bayer Pharmaceuticals

Germany's Bayer (BAYN: DE) has announced a restructure of the executive leadership team of its Pharmaceuticals Division.

In recent years, Bayer has gone about transforming the division through collaborations and acquisitions into fields such as cell and gene therapies. Now, the company has described its next step as a focus on renewing its top line and leveraging a new operating model."We have decided to dismantle our traditional model with functional silos and many layers of hierarchy"As part of this, Sebastian Guth will assume the new role of chief operating officer, with responsibility for the commercial operations of all markets in which the company is active. He will work with teams internationally, driving commercial strategy to enhance customer value, maximize market opportunities and generate revenue growth. Dr Guth will continue to report to Stefan Oelrich, the president of the division. To support the company’s strategy for substantial growth in the US market, he will continue to live in the USA. A newly-formed “global commercialization” organization will encompass major parts of the company’s former strategic business unit for oncology, global marketing and digital and commercial innovation, as well as parts of medical affairs and pharmacovigilance. This organization will be led by Christine Roth, who is currently leading the firm’s oncology strategic business unit. Mr Oelrich said: “We have decided to dismantle our traditional model with functional silos and many layers of hierarchy. We are replacing it with our new operating model, which has product and customer teams at its center. These changes within our leadership team reflect this new approach to realize the full potential of our growth opportunities.”