Several board changes at AstraZeneca
pharmafile | February 17, 2015 | News story | Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, Bruce Burlington, Cornelia Bargmann, Graham Chipchase, Rudy Markham
AstraZeneca is conducting a boardroom overhaul as it announces non-executive board changes and retirements ahead of its annual meeting in April.
One of the key additions seems to be the election of Dr Cornelia Bargmann as a non-executive director, with the UK drug giant also proposing to appoint her to its science committee.
Bargmann is the Torsten Wiesel Professor and head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang laboratory of neural circuits and behaviour at The Rockefeller University in New York, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
She is the recipient of the 2015 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, one of nine individuals who will be presented with awards by The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia this year.
The award is in relation to her contributions to neurobiology that have led to discoveries elucidating the relationship between genes, neurons, neural circuits and behaviour.
In other moves at AZ – John Varley who is the senior independent non-executive director and Dame Nancy Rothwell, non-executive director, both intend to retire from the firm at the end of April each having served for nine years.
As a result of Varley and Rothwell’s retirement Rudy Markham will become senior independent non-executive director. Graham Chipchase will become chairman of the remuneration committee and a member of the nomination and governance committee.
Also Bruce Burlington will become chairman of the science committee and a member of the nomination and governance committee, and Geneviève Berger will oversee sustainability matters.
In addition Shriti Vadera becomes a member of the remuneration committee with immediate effect.
AstraZeneca’s chairman Leif Johansson, says: “John Varley and Dame Nancy Rothwell have been committed and hard-working board members, serving the company and its shareholders for the best part of a decade.
“Their retirement has provided us with an opportunity to propose the appointment of new board members. We welcomed Ann Cairns last year and are delighted that Cori Bargmann has agreed to join the board in April. Cori will bring a wealth of experience in scientific research, fitting the needs of AstraZeneca’s board very well.”
Brett Wells
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