Novartis recruited a new chief ethics officer after being wrapped in controversy when its payments to President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen were exposed earlier this year, Reuters reports.
The Swiss drugmaker hired Klaus Moosmayer to serve as chief ethics, risk and compliance officer. Mr. Moosmayer comes from Siemens, where he spent more than 10 years helping the engineering firm recover from bribery scandals.
Novartis gained public attention earlier this year when news broke that its then-CEO Joe Jimenez and former legal head Felix Ehrat signed off on $1.2 million in payments to Mr. Cohen for healthcare policy lobbying services. Mr. Jimenez left the company before the scandal surfaced. Mr. Ehrat claimed responsibility for the scandal and resigned.
Mr. Moosmayer will replace Shannon Thyme Klinger, who was appointed general counsel when Mr. Ehrat resigned.
Vas Narasimhan, Novartis's current CEO, was appointed Feb. 1 and vowed to boost the drugmaker's reputation after settling corruption cases in China, South Korea and the U.S. He still faces criticism from U.S. lawmakers over the contract with Mr. Cohen. Novartis stands by its claim, however, that Mr. Narasimhan knew nothing about the payments.
"We must hold ourselves to [the] highest ethical standards and always aim to win and maintain the trust of society and our many stakeholders," Mr. Narasimhan told Reuters, while also pointing out Mr. Moosmayer's extensive experience in compliance.