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

Sanofi has named Belén Garijo as its new CEO to replace incumbent Paul Hudson, the French pharmaceutical major announced the surprise leadership change in a statement on 12 February.

Sanofi’s Board of Directors in a meeting on 11 February “decided not to renew the Director mandate of Paul Hudson”, as per the statement, which added that his last day as CEO will be on 17 February. “The Board thanks him for his valuable contributions to the transformation and development of the Group over the last six years,” it added.

Olivier Charmeil to hold interim CEO role

Notably, Garijo will take charge from 29 April, at the end of the Group’s Annual General Meeting. As per the statement, a proposal to appoint Garijo as a director of the Group and the amendment of articles of association to raise the CEO age limit will be raised during the meet.

Meanwhile, during the transition period, Olivier Charmeil, Executive Vice President, General Medicines, and member of the Executive Committee since 2011, will assume the role of Interim CEO, it added.

Who is Belén Garijo? Former researcher returns as CEO

Born in Almansa, Spain on 31 July 1960, Garijo a medical doctor specialist in clinical pharmacology. She began her career as a practicing physician at Madrid‘s La Paz Hospital.

After a six-year career at the hospital, Garijo moved to work in the Research and Development (R&D) department of Abbott, then for 15 years at Sanofi.

During her previous tenure with Sanofi, she was Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations for Europe and Canada and a member of Sanofi’s Executive Committee, operating in many European countries and the US, where she led the integration of Genzyme during its acquisition.

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

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

Since 2022, Garijo has been included on the international annual lists of Most Powerful Women published by Fortune and Forbes. In 2022, she received the German Diversity Honorary Award and was designated an Honorary Brand Ambassador for Spain by King Felipe VI. In 2024, she received the John M. McCloy Award from the American Council on Germany for helping build strong transatlantic relations and her dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Why did Sanofi choose Belén Garijo as new CEO?

According to the company statement, they expect Garijo to “bring an increased rigor to the implementation of Sanofi‘s strategy and accelerate the preparation of the Group’s future”.

“Her priority will be to strengthen the productivity, governance, and innovation capacity of Research & Development,” it added. Further, in the statement, Frédéric Oudéa, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said Garijo is a well-recognized leader in our industry with an undisputable reputation.

“She knows the Sanofi Group very well, where she has held important positions and achieved many successes for 15 years. She has the experience and profile to accelerate the pace, strengthen the quality of execution of strategy and lead the next growth cycle of the company, which is essential to build the Group’s future. In a rapidly changing pharmaceutical industry, we place Sanofi in experienced hands and Belén Garijo’s brilliant international career attests to her strategic vision and her ability to drive profound and value-creating transformations with a culture of rigor to serve the best interests of patients,” Oudéa stated.

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

Change in leadership comes ahead of patent loss, uncertain future?

According to a Bloomberg report, Hudson has been under pressure to replace sales from a looming patent loss in the 2030s for Sanofi’s top-selling asthma and skin disease drug Dupixent.

But efforts have not succeeded so far, based on a string of underwhelming trial updates last year, a Reuters report said. It added that Hudson did not immediately respond queries.