Sequenom names Dirk van den Boom interim President and CEO
The life sciences diagnostics company appointed Dirk van den Boom as interim President and CEO. The appointment was made after the resignation of the current head, William J. Welch, who moved on to pursue other interests. van den Boom is the company’s current Chief Scientific and Strategy Officer, and will remain so as he carries out his new role.
Joining Sequenom in 1998 at the company’s Hamburg office, van den Boom assumed the role of Chief Scientific and Strategy Officer in 2014. In December 2012, van den Boom was appointed to the position of Executive Vice President, Research & Development and Chief Technology Officer. Sequenom provides prenatal tests that detect fetal abnormalities in fetuses.
Michael Rousseau Will Lead St. Jude Medical, Inc. Starting in 2016
St. Jude Medical, Inc., a healthcare organization with a mission to transform treatment of expensive epidemic diseases, announced that Michael Rousseau will become President and Chief Executive Officer effective as of January 1, 2016. His appointment is part of a leadership transition plan designed to capitalize on the strength of the St. Jude Medical Management team, and will follow the retirement of Daniel J. Starks, the current President and CEO.
Rousseau initially served as St. Jude’s Vice President and head of Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) Global Marketing since 1999. Holding many leadership positions, Rousseau became Chief Operating Officer in 2014. He will now apply his experience and dedication to forge more technological innovation, improve patient outcomes and raise shareholder value.
AbbVie
Appointed Henry Gosebruch as Chief Strategy Officer. Gosebruch is a co-head of JPMorgan Chase’s North American mergers. After joining JPMorgan in 1994, Gosebruch rose through the ranks to become a top dealmaker and has advised numerous pharmaceutical industry transactions, including the Cubist takeover by Merck.
Acadia Pharmaceuticals
Named Steve Davis as President and CEO. Davis has been serving Acadia as interim CEO since March. Before joining the team in 2014, Davis served as Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer at Heron Therapeutics, Inc. With more than 20 years of experience, he has held numerous leadership positions at companies including Ardea BioSciences and Neurogen Corp.
Array BioPharma
Appointed Patricia Henahan as Chief Financial Officer. Henahan recently served as Vice President of Finance for Hospira. Henahan possesses vast experience in strategic planning, financial analysis, commercialization gleaned from leadership roles at major biopharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca, and Eli Lilly. Henahan will lead efforts to commercialize two new drugs.
Astellas
Jamie McGarvey joined Astellas Pharma, a company known internationally for its reliable pharmaceutical products, as Senior Manager, Employee Communications within the Corporate Affairs Department. She will provide executive support and implement employee communication throughout the U.S. Before joining Astellas, McGarvey was a communications lead at Baxter International.
Benchworks
Named Sally Reed as Vice President, Digital Services. She will be responsible for expanding Benchworks’ digital offerings, including website development, videos, and emailing. Reed previously served as Benchworks’ Digital Director. Before joining Benchworks, Reed managed a team of pharmaceutical marketing project managers at Cadient Interactive.
Giant
Promoted Vanya Akraboff to SVP, Group Creative Director, from her previous position as VP, Group Creative Director. She has a proven track record in developing market success for multiple clients. Janet D. Vennari became SVP, Managing Group Director. She will be responsible for leading clients and account teams to generate both organic and new business. Previously, she held the position of VP, Management Supervisor at the company.
Healthcasts
Appointed Denis Wyrwoll as Senior Director of Market Research. Previously, Wyrwoll served as Director of Business Analytics and Insights at Pfizer. In his new role, Wyrwoll will lead efforts to expand research capabilities for pharmaceutical partners and devise in-depth physician analytics.
Klick Health
Co-founder and CEO, Leerom Segal, joined the Google Health Advisory Board. Segal has led technological advancements in the digital health community since 1997. As a member of the board, Segal will add his skills in helping information seekers make better healthcare decisions, understand consumer and provider problems, offer feedback on products and discuss the overall healthcare landscape, to aid Google’s health efforts.
Marathon Pharmaceuticals
Named Dr. Jordan Dubow Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Clinical and Medical Affairs. Dr. Dubow is a board certified neurologist who will now oversee clinical development and drug safety affairs for Marathon to expand the company’s efforts in development for therapies for rare neurological disorders. Before joining Marathon, Dr. Dubow was a medical director at Abbott/AbbVie.
Merck KGaA
The German company is reorganizing its top management of its healthcare business and Simon Sturge was named to the newly created roll of Chief Operating Officer. Sturge will oversee commercial regions and supervise global manufacturing and supply in addition to his current role as head of the company’s biosimilars efforts and Allergopharma unit. Before Merck, he was the Group Board Director at CellTech.
Makovsky
Named Lee Davies Director of Client Services, Health Practice. With 40 years experience at the company, Davies most recently served as the company’s Senior Vice President. Prior to joining the team, Davies was Director of Global Media Relations at Merck & Co. where he represented the company as a spokesperson for oncology, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and women’s health. His experience spans numerous marketing positions at companies including Pfizer and Schering-Plough. In his new position Davies will lead client problem-solving efforts.
Ogilvy
Announced the addition of Jeff Arnold, Chairman and CEO of Sharecare, to its roster of executives who will speak at the agency’s 2015 Marketing Summit: Marketing in the Age of Person-centric Healthcare. Arnold will be the opening keynote speaker.
