Novartis CEO Jimenez to Quit, Giving Reins to Harvard Doctor
- Narasimhan to take the helm at European drugmaker from Feb. 1
- Jimenez reshaped company with asset swaps, planned divestments
Novartis Names Narasimhan CEO as Jimenez Retires
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Novartis AG announced the surprise departure of Chief Executive Officer Joseph Jimenez after eight years at the helm of Europe’s largest drugmaker, handing off the challenge of selling underperforming assets and developing new medicines to a Harvard-trained doctor.
Vasant Narasimhan, 41, chief medical officer and global head of drug development at the Basel, Switzerland-based company, will succeed Jimenez from Feb. 1, Novartis said in a statement on Monday. Jimenez, 57, who will retire at the end of January, said his family is ready to return to Silicon Valley after spending 10 years in Switzerland.