Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi is opening a new page in its governance. Meeting on 11 February, its board of directors decided not to renew the directorship of Paul Hudson, whose last day as chief executive will be 17 February 2026, the group announced in a press release.
To succeed him, the Board has appointed Belén Garijo as chief executive officer. She will officially take up her post at the close of the annual general meeting on 29 April. In the meantime, Olivier Charmeil, executive vice president general medicine and a member of the executive committee since 2011, will act as interim CEO.
A Spanish doctor by training, Belén Garijo has been managing Merck KGaA (a German multinational specialising in science and technology) since 2021, becoming the first woman to head a DAX40-listed group. After a career in R&D at Abbott, she spent 15 years at Sanofi, where she was in charge of pharmaceutical operations in Europe and Canada and a member of the executive committee. She also oversaw the integration of Genzyme (a rare disease biotech acquired by Sanofi in 2011) in the US following its acquisition.
“The Sanofi Board thanks Paul Hudson for his work and the strategic initiatives he has launched during his tenure. The Board is pleased to welcome Belén Garijo as Chief Executive Officer. She is a recognised leader in our industry with an unquestionable reputation. She has the experience and profile needed to step up the pace, strengthen the quality of strategy execution and steer the company’s next growth cycle, which is essential to building the Group’s future,” wrote Chairman Frédéric Oudéa.
The new executive will be responsible for strengthening R&D productivity, governance and innovation capacity in a rapidly changing pharmaceutical sector.
