The pharma industry witnessed hundreds of leadership changes in 2020, including appointments, retirements and the creation of new roles.
Below are 30 key moves involving pharma industry leaders in 2020, as reported by Becker's Hospital Review.
- Moncef Slaoui, PhD, the former pharmaceutical executive who was named chief adviser of the White House's Operation Warp Speed program, resigned from Moderna's board and divested his $10 million in stock options.
- CVS Health President and CEO Larry Merlo announced he will step down from his role in February and hand the reins over to Karen Lynch, president of CVS' Aetna insurance unit.
- Former Rite Aid CEO John Standley became the new president of Walgreens.
- CVS Health named Daniel Finke as the new president of its Aetna healthcare benefits segment
- Jonathan Sackler, co-owner of OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma, died of cancer at age 65.
- CVS Health appointed Neela Montgomery as the new president of its CVS Pharmacy business.
- Walgreens Boots Alliance brought Mike Maresca onto its leadership team as chief technology officer, a position he began in late June.
- CVS Health dropped three directors from its 16-member board, including former Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini.
- Rite Aid appointed Roxanne Schwans as its senior vice president of market access and pharmacy purchasing.
- Chris Bohrer became Rite Aid's senior vice president of payer and strategic initiatives.
- Walgreens hired Kevin Ban, MD, former CMO for Athenahealth, to serve as its new CMO.
- Alan Lotvin, MD, became president of CVS Caremark.
- Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Stefano Pessina stepped down from his role.
- CVS Health named Jonathan Meyhew as its executive vice president of transformation.
- Walgreens President Richard Ashworth, PharmD, left the company to become CEO of Tivity Health, a health and fitness company based in Nashville, Tenn.
- David Loew, executive vice president of Sanofi's vaccines unit, left the company to become the CEO of a French biotech, and Thomas Triomphe assumed his role.
- Biogen CFO Jeffrey Capello stepped down from his role, which Mike McDonnell took over.
- The American Pharmacists Association swore in Scott Knoer, PharmD, as its 13th CEO during a virtual ceremony.
- Alan Main, executive vice president of Sanofi's consumer healthcare unit, left his role and was replaced by cosmetic company brand president Julie Van Ongevalle.
- Alec Cunningham became the executive vice president and COO of CVS' Aetna.
- Natalie Bickford became Sanofi's first chief people officer.
- Sanofi appointed Arnaud Roberts as its first chief digital officer.
- The American Pharmacists Association named Theresa Tolle as the 2021-22 president-elect.
- Rick Bright, PhD, a vaccine expert with decades of experience working in the federal government, resigned from HHS Oct. 6 citing a hostile workplace.
- Harout Semerjian, CEO of biopharma company Immunomedics, resigned after serving only six weeks in the role.
- Luciano Rossetti, MD, retired from his role as global head of research and development for Merck's healthcare business sector.
- Former Amazon executive Omer Gajial was named senior vice president of pharmacy and health at Albertsons, which operates 1,726 pharmacies in the U.S.
- Bayer appointed Christian Rommel, PhD, as its new head of pharmaceuticals research and development.
- Ipsen appointed Philippe Lopes-Fernandes as its new executive vice president and chief business officer.
- Vedanta Biosciences named Merck and AbbVie veteran Jeffrey Silber, MD, its new CMO.