The president of Novartis (NYSE: NVS)’ International Business Unit has this week declared a series of significant personnel changes. Ingrid Zhang, currently serving as the China president for the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, has been appointed as the Chief Business Officer (CCO) of Novartis International Business Unit. She will lead the Novartis Commercial Listing Strategy (CLS) team and will be based in Basel, Switzerland.
Simultaneously, Leo Lee, the incumbent President of Novartis Japan, has been appointed as the President of Novartis China. During the transition period, Keizo Miyazawa will step in as the interim President of Novartis Japan.
Leo Lee, a graduate in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, began his career at Accelrys in 1997, a company providing computational data services for drug development. He moved to Cegedim Dendrite, a pharmaceutical service company, in 2003, which was later acquired by IMS (now IQVIA). Lee’s pharmaceutical industry experience includes roles as Vice President of Sales at Merck Sharp & Dohme Japan and President of Allergan Japan, before becoming the President of Merck Serrano’s Japan business in 2015. He joined Novartis in November 2020, succeeding Kazunari Tsunaba as the President of Novartis Japan.
In other C-suite changes within the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (APMA) region, Judith Love, the current CCO of Novartis International Business, has been appointed as the Regional President of APMA. She will oversee operations in the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa regions and will be based in Singapore. Judith, from New Zealand, has previously served Roche and Novartis in the Australian, Swiss, and Japanese markets, bringing extensive international business experience to her new role. Iris Zemzoum, the current Regional President of APMA, has been appointed as the President of Europe, and she will be based in Basel. Iris Zemzoum, a German national and former gynecological oncologist, has been at the helm of the Novartis APMA region’s transformation and development since 2020. Haseeb Ahmad, the current President of Novartis Europe, will be departing from Novartis.- Flcube.com
