Corporate Governance
How is our business structured and managed?We have a clear structure in which the Board reserves and delegates its powers
Louis Schweitzer
Non-Executive Chairman, Chairman of the Nomination and Governance Committee and member of the Remuneration Committee (Age 68)
Appointed as a Director in March 2004 and as Chairman in January 2005. Louis Schweitzer has extensive leadership experience at both executive and non-executive levels in large, multinational companies. He is Non-Executive Chairman of AB Volvo and a Non-Executive Director of BNP-Paribas, Veolia Environnement SA and L’Oréal SA. Previously he has held the roles of Non-Executive Chairman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Renault SA.
David Brennan
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (Age 57)
Appointed as a Director in March 2005 and as CEO in January 2006. David Brennan is President of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA) and a member of the executive board of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). He is a past Chairman of the board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and remains a member of the PhRMA board. From 2001 until January 2006, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company’s North American subsidiary. He was Chairman of the board of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Heart Association 2004- 2006. He began his career in 1975 at Merck, where he started as a sales representative in the US division and later worked in sales and marketing management in the US and international divisions. He joined Astra Merck in 1992 and helped to build the joint venture into a multi-billion dollar business in the US. He is an alumnus of Gettysburg College where he studied Business Administration.
Simon Lowth
Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer (Age 49)
Appointed as a Director and as CFO in November 2007. Simon Lowth is also a Non-Executive Director of Standard Chartered PLC. He was previously at ScottishPower where he was Finance Director, a position he left following completion of the sale of the company to Iberdrola. His move to ScottishPower followed 15 years’ experience with the global management consultancy, McKinsey & Company, where he advised leading multinational companies on a wide range of strategic, financial and operational issues. He has an engineering degree from Cambridge University and an MBA from the London Business School.
Michele Hooper
Senior independent Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the Audit Committee and member of the Nomination and Governance Committee (Age 59)
Appointed as a Director in July 2003 and as Senior independent Non-Executive Director in April 2007. Michele Hooper is a recognised corporate governance expert and has considerable healthcare industry expertise. She is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Directors’ Council, a private company which she co-founded in 2003, that works with corporate boards to increase their independence, effectiveness and diversity, and a non-executive member of the boards of UnitedHealth Group Inc., PPG Industries, Inc. and Warner Music Group, Inc. Previously she was President and Chief Executive Officer of Stadtlander Drug Company, Inc. and Corporate Vice-President and President, International Businesses of Caremark International Inc.
Bruce Burlington
Non-Executive Director and member of the Science Committee (Age 62)
Appointed as a Director in August. Bruce Burlington is a pharmaceutical product development and regulatory affairs consultant and brings extensive experience in those areas to the Board. He is also a non-executive board member of Cangene Corporation and a member of the scientific advisory boards of the International Medica Foundation and H. Lundbeck A/S. Previously he spent 17 years with the FDA, serving as director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health as well as holding a number of senior roles in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. After leaving the FDA he served in a series of senior executive positions at Wyeth (now part of Pfizer Inc.).
Jean-Philippe Courtois
Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit Committee (Age 50)
Appointed as a Director in February 2008. Jean-Philippe Courtois has over 25 years’ experience in the global technology industry and is President of Microsoft International, Senior Vice-President of Microsoft Corporation, a board member of PlaNet Finance and Microsoft’s official representative at the Institut Montaigne. Previously he was Chief Executive Officer and President of Microsoft EMEA and has served as co-chairman of the World Economic Forum’s Global Digital Divide Initiative Task Force and on the European Commission Information and Communication Technology Task Force. In 2009, he also served as an EU Ambassador for the Year of Creativity and Innovation.
Jane Henney
Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit Committee, the Nomination and Governance Committee and the Science Committee (Age 63)
Appointed as a Director in September 2001. Jane Henney has extensive clinical and health policy expertise and is currently Professor of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, a non-executive member of the boards of AmerisourceBergen Corporation and CIGNA Corporation and a board member of The Commonwealth Fund and China Medical Board. Previous positions within the health industry include her role as Commissioner of Food and Drugs at the FDA and Senior Vice-President and Provost for Health Affairs, University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center.
Rudy Markham
Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit Committee and the Remuneration Committee (Age 64)
Appointed as a Director in September 2008. Rudy Markham has significant international business and financial experience, having formerly held a number of senior commercial and financial positions worldwide with Unilever, culminating in his appointment as Chief Financial Officer of Unilever. He is currently Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and a non-executive member of the boards of United Parcel Services Inc., the UK Financial Reporting Council, Standard Chartered PLC and Legal & General plc. He is also a non-executive member of the board of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a Fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.
Dame Nancy Rothwell
Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the Science Committee and member of the Remuneration Committee (Age 55)
Appointed as a Director in April 2006 and has responsibility for overseeing Responsible Business. Nancy Rothwell is a distinguished life scientist and academic and is the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester. She is also President of the Society of Biology. Previously she has served as President of the British Neuroscience Association and has been on the councils of the Medical Research Council, the Royal Society, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Academy of Medical Sciences and Cancer Research UK.
John Varley
Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and member of the Nomination and Governance Committee (Age 54)
Appointed as a Director in July 2006. John Varley was formerly Group Chief Executive of the Barclays Group, having held a number of senior positions with the bank during his career, including that of Group Finance Director. He brings additional international, executive business leadership experience to the Board. He is also a Non-Executive Director of BlackRock, Inc., Chairman of Business Action on Homelessness, President of the Employers’ Forum on Disability, a member of the International Advisory Panel of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Honorary President of the UK Drug Policy Commission.
Marcus Wallenberg
Non-Executive Director and member of the Science Committee (Age 54)
Appointed as a Director in April 1999. Marcus Wallenberg has international business experience across a broad range of industry sectors, including the pharmaceutical industry from hisdirectorship with Astra AB prior to 1999. He is the Chairman of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, AB Electrolux and Saab AB, Vice-Chairman of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) and a Non-Executive Director of Stora Enso Oyj and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.