Pharmaceuticals

New CEOs for Gilead Sciences and Roche Pharmaceuticals

Gilead Sciences has appointed Daniel O’Day, currently Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Roche Pharmaceuticals, as Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Gilead, effective March 1, 2019. John C. Martin, current Chairman, Gilead Sciences’ Board of Directors, will step down from the company’s board, effective March 1, 2019. John F. Milligan, will step down from his role as President and CEO and as a member of the board at the end of 2018.

Gilead’s board has also appointed Gregg Alton as interim CEO for the period of January 1, 2019 until O’Day’s start date of March 1, 2019. Alton has held a number of executive positions at Gilead over the past 20 years, with experience in legal, medical affairs, policy and commercial. He previously served as general counsel and in August 2018, was appointed Chief Patient Officer.

O’Day will be stepping down from his role as CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals as of December 31, 2018. Until the end of February 2019 and prior to assuming his new responsibilities outside of Roche, he will provide his support to ensure a smooth transition of activities.

William (Bill) Anderson, currently CEO of Genentech, will be appointed CEO Roche Pharmaceuticals effective January 1, 2019. He will be based in Basel, report to Severin Schwan, Roche Group CEO and become a member of the Corporate Executive Committee. Anderson joined Roche in 2006 leading the Immunology Business Unit in Genentech and then took responsibility for Oncology Sales and Marketing. In 2013, he was appointed Head of Global Product Strategy based in Basel before assuming his current role as CEO of Genentech in 2017.

O’Day has held his position with Roche since 2012, and prior to that led Roche Diagnostics. His career spans three decades of leadership roles across North America, Asia Pacific, and Europe. After joining Roche Pharmaceuticals in 1987, O’Day held various positions in the US before moving to Roche headquarters in Switzerland in 1998. During his time in Switzerland, he held leadership roles in global marketing and lifecycle management. In 2001, he moved to Tokyo to become Head of Corporate Planning for Roche Pharmaceuticals in Japan and later moved to Denmark to serve as General Manager. He became President of Roche Molecular Diagnostics in California in 2006 and subsequently returned to Roche headquarters to lead the Diagnostics Division before assuming his current position.

He is a member of the corporate executive committee of F. Hoffmann La Roche AG and a member of the boards of Shanghai Roche Pharmaceuticals, Roche (China) Holding, Roche Pharma Schweiz AG, Genentech, Inc., Chugai Pharmaceuticals Co., Flatiron Health, and Foundation Medicine, Inc. Additionally, he has served as a member of the board of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations.