Takeda names U.S. head, currently its sole female executive

Ramona Sequeira has been named president of Takeda's U.S. subsidiary, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., reporting directly to President and CEO Christophe Weber, effective June 1. Sequeira is currently a vice president of Eli Lilly ($LLY).

The appointment comes in the same month that Weber was quoted in the Financial Times as saying he was not pleased with a lack of women in senior management ranks.

"Regarding nationalities, it's very diverse. Regarding gender, it's not diverse at all," he was quoted by the Financial Times as saying about Takeda overall. "I don't have a single woman on my team, so I'm working on that."

Ramona Sequeira

Sequeira replaces Doug Cole, who announced last November he would be leaving the job he has held for three of his 22 years with Takeda, beginning as a sales representative. He agreed to stay on until a successor was appointed.

His replacement is a French-speaking native of Canada, and has worked in the pharma business there, the United Kingdom and the United States. She served as the general manager of Eli Lilly UK for three years before being named a headquarters vice president in the United States in 2012.

In announcing her appointment, Weber cited Sequeira's more than 20 years of leadership and a track record of success in several healthcare markets.

- here's the Takeda release and Crain's Chicago Business story