Chris Viehbacher

What will Viehbacher bring to Sanofi?

Tracy Staton — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:11:10 -0500

Does Chris Viehbacher's (photo) advent as CEO of Sanofi-Aventis signal that buyout deals may soon be in the works? Analysts say yes. For instance, the idea of a merger with Bristol-Myers Squibb, often mentioned as a possible target for Sanofi, has again raised its head, this time in an investor note from UBS analyst Gbola Amusa. Such a deal "may be more likely now," the Wall Street Journal quotes Amusa as saying. Bristol-Myers declined comment.

Analysts also expect Viehbacher to cut costs as his colleagues at other Big Pharma firms have done. Sanofi has instituted some layoffs already, but investors appear to be lobbying for the company to shutter some production facilities and cut more jobs. "They have quite a high cost base when you compare them to the pharmaceutical average," one analyst told the WSJ.

Whatever Viehbacher does, his stepping into the CEO role is a sea change for the French firm, which has been run by a cadre of mostly French executives. So some changes are inevitable.

- read the WSJ story

French drugmakers retool under pressure

Tracy Staton — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:57:05 -0400

Before Sanofi-Aventis appointed Chris Viehbacher (photo) as its new CEO, the French pharmaceutical industry was already in the throes of huge changes. But Viehbacher's selection to run France's flagship pharma was a highly visible hallmark of this historic shift, the Financial Times reports.

Viehbacher, as you know, had been one of GlaxoSmithKline's three top executives and a board member--an outsider, in other words, a man with joint Canadian and German citizenship. Now, he's new blood to take the helm of a company long controlled by a small group of big French shareholders and home-grown management. Those big shareholders are cutting their stakes in the company as global pressures hit Sanofi along with the rest of Big Pharma, and the rest of French pharma, too.

Take Pierre Fabre, a privately held, family-run medicines group: It's not only restructuring in a big way, but it recruited ex-Glaxo CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier to take over management and help steer it through the financial shoals. Servier, another family-controlled drug company, is trying to consolidate its family control to protect itself from takeover. Whereas Ipsen, also a family firm, brought in outside capital and outside management, but retained overall control within the family in a bid to remain independent.

So French pharma appears to be seeking the best of both worlds: new, internationally trained management plus as much family/French control as practically possible. We'll see how they fare.

- read the FT article

GSK's Viehbacher picked as Sanofi CEO

Calisha Myers — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:52:37 -0400

When GlaxoSmithKline's Chris Viehbacher (photo) announced his plans to leave the company, everyone wondered where he would head next. Apparently it's in the CEO spot at another company--the spot he was passed over for at GSK. Well, GSK's loss is Sanofi-Aventis' gain. As of December 1, Viehbacher will replace Gerard Le Fur as CEO.

Insiders are saying that Le Fur--who has headed Sanofi for less than two years--is being ousted as a result of his clashes with Sanofi's chairman, Jean-Francois Dehecq, who has played a pivotal role in Sanofi's biggest deals and successes over the past 30 years and holds more influence at the company. Le Fur will remain on to work in scientific areas within the group.

"The evolution of the worldwide pharmaceutical sector requires the key players to acutely redefine their strategy," Sanofi said in a statement.

Analysts and Sanofi shareholders, including oil giant Total and comestics group L'Oreal, believe the change will invigorate the company, whose reputation and stocks have not been doing so well over the past few years. Around this time last year, Total had been looking to offload its 13 percent stake and shares soared on rumors that a sell to Pfizer would lead to a buyout. Will Total stick around now that Viehbacher is at the helm?

Sanofi shares shot up 7 percent on the news, after a 22 percent drop over the past year as a result of setbacks in its pipeline.

- view the Sanofi-Aventis release
- check out the Financial Times article

GSK exec to head rival drugmaker

Tracy Staton — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:18:08 -0400

Where, oh where could Chris Viehbacher (photo) be going? Place your bets now, folks, because the Financial Times reports that Viehbacher is leaving GlaxoSmithKline, where he heads up North American operations, to take the reins of another pharmaceutical group.

Complicating factor: According to GSK's 2007 proxy, Viehbacher has a 12-month noncompete clause in his contract with the company. But in negotiating his exit, Glaxo has been focusing on preventing a follow-the-leader exodus, the FT reports. The company may let Viehbacher go to a competitor, but it doesn't want him to recruit anybody to join his new team.

As you know, Viehbacher was one of three execs in a horse race to take the CEO slot when Jean-Pierre Garnier retired. Andrew Witty (photo), of course, won that race and took over this spring. David Stout (photo), the other candidate, left the company to go into semi-retirement, but Viehbacher stuck around with a seat on the board and a $5 million retention package. Now he's quit, too, leaving Witty with a depleted slate of experienced GSK executives.

- read the Financial Times article

Update:
GSK's Viehbacher picked as Sanofi CEO

GSK loses North American chief

Tracy Staton — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:02:53 -0400

A $5 million retention bonus apparently wasn't enough to keep Chris Viehbacher (photo) at GlaxoSmithKline. One of the three top GSK execs in the race to succeed Jean-Pierre Garnier as CEO, Viehbacher was passed over in favor of Andrew Witty (photo), who took over officially after the company's annual meeting this spring. To keep Viehbacher at the head of North American operations, GSK gave him a seat on the company's board and a $5 million bonus to be paid in two parts, according to Pharmalot, half at the end of this year, the other half at the end of 2011. David Stout (photo), who also made a bid for the CEO spot, left the company after he was passed over for the top spot.

Well, he won't make it to either date. Viehbacher resigned his board seat effective immediately, and he'll leave the company altogether December 1. In a statement, Witty thanked Viehbacher for "his significant contribution" to the company and wished him well "in his future endeavors." We wonder what those future endeavors will be.

- see the GSK release
- read the Pharmalot post

Update:
GSK's Viehbacher picked as Sanofi CEO

GSK investors attack exec pay, performance

Tracy Staton — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:47:37 -0400

It's been a tough week for outgoing GlaxoSmithKline CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier. Browbeaten during a BBC interview on Tuesday, he was "heckled" by annoyed shareholders at yesterday's annual meeting. Investors complained about the stock's lackluster performance and rebelled against what they called excessive executive pay. At least Garnier's pain was shared by the company's board: "I am getting fed up with this underperformance," one shareholder said to applause. "This board is a continuing failure."

One paycheck at issue was Chris Viehbacher's one-time retention bonus, a stock award worth between $4 million and $5 million. Viehbacher, you'll recall, was in the running to replace Garnier, but lost out to incoming chief Andrew Witty. One of GSK's big investors questioned the bonus, saying it had "insufficient justification." (It's worth noting, however, that the other CEO hopeful, David Stout, left GSK after Witty was appointed.)

Investors criticized other exec's pay, too, saying it's not sufficiently linked to the company's stock performance. Only 61 percent of shareholders voted in favor; considering the usual rubber-stamp shareholder vote, that's a low percentage. Last year, GSK's pay plan got 92.5 percent of the vote.

Perhaps Garnier was simply taking out his frustrations on a handy target when he scoffed at the idea of GSK buying rival AstraZeneca. "What kind of future do they have?" he asked. "What kind of pipeline do they have? Why would you trade down?"

- see the story in the Financial Times
- check out the article in The Telegraph
- read the item in the Wall Street Journal Deal Blog
- get the Pharmalot take
- find the WSJ Health Blog item

GSK shuffles execs in operations overhaul

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

If anyone doubted Andrew Witty's (photo) professed faith in emerging markets, those doubts can be put to rest. The incoming GlaxoSmithKline CEO lured Eli Lilly's Abbas Hussein to spearhead a new unit charged with building business in China, Russia, Brazil, India and the Middle East.

Until now, GSK had lumped all countries outside the U.S., Europe, and Japan into one big "International" basket. The new structure is designed to focus more attention on once-neglected markets, Witty said, where pharma growth rates could someday triple those in Western nations. "A key element of this new team's remit will be to proactively seek new business opportunities to expand our global reach and drive sales growth," he said.

Meanwhile, Witty has combined U.S., Canadian, and Puerto Rican ops into one North American division, to be headed by U.S. unit president Chris Viehbacher (photo). GSK's Japan honcho Marc Dunoyer will take command of a new Asia Pacific group. And former northern European ops chief David Redfern will take a new job that's trendy among Big Pharma firms these days: chief strategy officer.

- here's GSK's release
- read the brief in the Philadelphia Inquirer
- check out the Wall Street Journal's coverage
- see the story in the Financial Times

GSK CEO also-rans may get on board

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Last week, the buzz about GlaxoSmithKline's CEO-presumptive Andrew Witty included worries that his internal competitors for the top slot would jump ship. Now Glaxo may sweeten the pot for those also-rans--by putting them on the board of directors.

The move would benefit Glaxo two ways: One, it might induce David Stout and Chris Viehbacher--both experienced execs--to stick around. Two, it would increase the proportion of execs to non-execs on the board; now, only three of the 14 directors are company types.

Meanwhile, there's talk in the executive suite about other ways to retain the two men. More responsibility, perhaps. More money, too. But as nothing has been decided yet, Glaxo's only official word is "no comment."

- check out the Financial Times report

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