Who is Belén Garijo? Paul Hudson replaced, former researcher returns as CEO of Sanofi in sudden leadership change

Sanofi appointed Belén Garijo as new CEO, replacing incumbent Paul Hudson; The French pharmaceutical giant announced the surprise leadership change in a statement on February 12.

According to the statement of the Sanofi Board of Directors at the meeting held on February 11, “it was decided not to renew Paul Hudson’s position as Director”, and it was stated that his last day as CEO will be on February 17. The statement said, “The Board thanks him for his valuable contributions to the transformation and development of the Group over the last six years.”

Olivier Charmeil will take on the role of interim CEO

It is noteworthy that Garijo took over from 29 April at the end of the Group’s Annual General Meeting. According to the statement, during the meeting, the proposal to change the articles of association regarding the appointment of Garijo as a Group manager and increasing the CEO age limit will be brought to the agenda.

Meanwhile, it was also stated that Olivier Charmeil, Deputy General Manager of General Medicines and a member of the Executive Committee since 2011, will assume the role of Interim CEO during the transition period.

Who is Belén Garijo? Former researcher returns as CEO

Garijo, born on July 31, 1960, in Almansa, Spain, is a medical doctor specializing in clinical pharmacology. He started his career as a general practitioner at La Paz Hospital in Madrid.

After a six-year career at the hospital, Garijo began working in Abbott’s Research and Development (R&D) department, then at Sanofi for 15 years.

During his previous tenure at Sanofi, he served as Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations for Europe and Canada and was a member of the Sanofi Executive Committee operating in several European countries and the United States, where he led the integration of Genzyme during its acquisition.

A strategic leader recognized beyond the pharmaceutical industry, he is a member of the BBVA Board of Directors and has been a member of the L’Oréal Board of Directors for 10 years.

She joined Merck KGaA in 2011 and became CEO in 2021, becoming the first woman to lead a DAX40 company in Germany.

Garijo has been included in the international annual Most Powerful Women lists published by Fortune and Forbes since 2022. In 2022, he received the German Diversity Honor Award and was appointed Honorary Brand Ambassador of Spain by King Felipe VI. In 2024, he received the John M. McCloy Award from the German American Council for helping build strong transatlantic relations and for his commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Why did Sanofi choose Belén Garijo as the new CEO?

According to the company statement, they expect Garijo to “bring greater rigor to the implementation of the Sanofi strategy and accelerate preparations for the future of the Group.”

“His priority will be to strengthen the productivity, governance and innovation capacity of Research and Development,” he added. Additionally, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Frédéric Oudéa, said in his statement that Garijo is a recognized leader with an unquestionable reputation in our industry.

“He knows the Sanofi Group very well, where he has held key positions for 15 years and achieved many successes. He has the experience and profile to accelerate the pace, strengthen the quality of strategy execution and lead the company’s next growth cycle, which is necessary to build the future of the Group. In a rapidly changing pharmaceutical industry, we leave Sanofi in experienced hands, and Belén Garijo’s brilliant international career confirms his strategic vision and ability to realize deep and value-creating transformations with a culture” Oudéa said, “in the best interests of patients “Meticulousness to serve properly,” he said.

Sanofi is an R&D-driven, AI-powered, listed biopharma company that applies its deep understanding of the immune system to invent drugs and vaccines that treat and protect millions of people around the world, the company statement said.

Does change in leadership trump patent loss and uncertain future?

According to a report from Bloomberg, Hudson is under pressure to recoup sales from the impending patent loss of Sanofi’s best-selling asthma and skin disease drug Dupixent in the 2030s.

But the efforts have not been successful so far, based on a series of inadequate trial updates last year, according to a Reuters report. He added that Hudson did not immediately respond to questions.