Three months on, Eli Lilly has closed the books on its search for a new chief financial officer. And as with its previous CFO, Anat Ashkenazi, the company didn’t have to look far.
Lilly on Monday revealed that it’s slotting 23-year company veteran Lucas Montarce into the finance chief role after the pharma’s previous CFO Ashkenazi announced her departure for Google’s parent company Alphabet in early June.
Montarce, who’s been with the Indianapolis-based drugmaker since 2001, most recently worked as Lilly's president and general manager for the company’s hub in Spain, Portugal and Greece.
Prior to that, Montarce chipped in across a number of top financial posts, including corporate controller and chief financial officer of Lilly Research Laboratories, among others.
Montarce is taking up the reins as CFO “effective immediately,” Lilly said in a release. In his new role, Montarce will receive a yearly base salary of $1 million, plus up to $1 million more in annualized target bonuses, Lilly said in a filing Monday.
The new finance chief holds a bachelor’s degree in business accounting from Catholic University in Argentina and a master’s degree in business administration from the Center for Macroeconomic Studies of Argentina (CEMA), Lilly added.
Lilly looking inward to fill out its C-suite is nothing new for the drugmaker.
Former CFO Ashkenazi also started at Lilly in 2001 before climbing the ranks to finance chief. And her interim replacement, Gordon Brooks—who serves on a permanent basis as Lilly’s group VP, controller and corporate strategy—kicked off his stint at the firm back in 1995 as a finance manager in sub-Saharan Africa before climbing to regional CFO roles for company units in Russia, Japan and Europe.
"Developing leadership talent has always been a strength for Lilly,” the company’s CEO, David Ricks, said in a statement on the new finance chief hire. “Having worked directly with Lucas for more than a decade, I am highly confident he has the drive, curiosity and integrity to excel as our next CFO."
Ashkenazi’s departure from Lilly was revealed in June after she had served for 23 years at the company, including 3 as CFO. Ashkenazi made the decision to switch firms after being hired on in the same role at tech giant Alphabet.
During Ashkenazi’s tenure, Lilly grew to become the highest valued company in the biopharma industry, largely thanks to the launch of its highly successful GIP/GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and obesity. As it stands, Lilly is ranked No. 10 among companies globally with a market cap of roughly $817 billion.
As a sign of Lilly’s continued strong performance, the company in August lifted its 2024 guidance by a whopping $3 billion for a total expected sales range between $45.5 billion and $46.6 billion this year.