More turmoil for India's Ranbaxy Laboratories. CFO Omesh Sethi has left the company, becoming the third top executive to do so since its Japanese majority owner took control. Moreover, Sethi is leaving only six months after CEO Atul Sobti took a hike, saying his vision for the company didn't mesh with Daiichi's.
Daiichi confirmed Sethi's departure to Bloomberg, but wouldn't comment beyond that. Ranbaxy didn't offer a reason for the change, just saying it was effective Tuesday.
It's rarely a good time to lose two top managers in quick succession. As CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets analyst Hemant Bakru told Bloomberg, "You lose that continuity which is essential for any corporation to run well." But needless to say, it's an especially bad time for Ranbaxy. Two years into an import ban, the company is still trying to mend its relationship with FDA. Constrained in the important U.S. market, Ranbaxy's sales have suffered; for 2009, its most recent full-year results, sales grew by only 2.5 percent.
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