In Roche’s diagnostics business, the manager recommended himself for higher positions at the pharmaceutical company.
(Photo: Roche)
Basel Management change at the pharmaceutical company Roche: After 15 years as CEO, Severin Schwan will move to the head of the supervisory board at the annual general meeting in March 2023. His successor will be Thomas Schinecker, 47, currently head of the diagnostics division.
The leadership restructuring had become necessary because Christoph Franz decided not to seek re-election. “I have decided that after twelve years on the Board of Directors, nine of which as Chairman, I will no longer be available for re-election as Chairman of the Board of Directors,” said Franz on Thursday.
André Hoffmann, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and representative of the founding families Oeri and Hoffmann, said: “As in the past, we were able to secure the successor for the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the CEO with excellent managers from our own ranks. That is a great quality of our company.”
The appointment of Schinecker as CEO and his move to the board of directors are a logical step for Schwan: “The personal details are an expression of the continuity that we traditionally have at the top management levels, but also below,” he said in an interview with the Handelsblatt.
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Schwan is a lawyer and financial expert, Schinecker is a molecular biologist. But the CVs of both managers have some things in common. Both come from Austria, they studied in their home country and in New York – and joined Roche immediately after completing their doctorates. Before his appointment as CEO, Schwan led Roche’s diagnostics division for two years – very similar to Schinecker, who has been leading the diagnostics business since August 2019.
Recommended for higher positions
There Schinecker was able to recommend himself for higher offices: under his leadership, the diagnostics division launched the world’s first PCR tests and the first antigen tests for the corona virus a few months after the outbreak of the pandemic. This helped the diagnostics business, which is much smaller than the pharmaceuticals division, to attract a lot of attention – and a significant increase in sales.
>> Read also: Covid tests give Roche another boost at the start of the year
In the first half of 2022 alone, the sales of the diagnostics division grew by ten percent to almost ten billion Swiss francs, as can be seen from the half-year figures published on Thursday. The pharmaceutical division only increased by three percent. The diagnostics division now accounts for around a third of group sales. In the corona pandemic, Roche was thus able to more than compensate for the drop in sales in the pharmaceuticals business.
Schwan praises that Schinecker has realigned the business, invested heavily in research and development and finally managed the division successfully during the pandemic. “It is remarkable what Thomas Schinecker and his team have achieved.”
>> Read also: The prospect of a new Roche lung cancer therapy is fading
However, employees and investors do not have to prepare themselves for a change in strategy. Unlike in Germany, it is quite common in Switzerland and compatible with the local principles of good corporate governance for the CEO to move to the top of the supervisory board without a break.
The manager is to inherit the chairman of the board, Christoph Franz.
(Photo: Reuters)
As Chairman of the Board of Directors, Schwan has primary responsibility for the company’s long-term strategic course. He emphasizes: “We are sticking to the strategy of promoting personalized medicine with a combination of diagnostics and pharmaceuticals.” The aim is to continue to promote close cooperation across the business areas. Schinecker has played a key role in shaping the strategy in cooperation with pharmaceutical boss Bill Anderson in recent years.
One of Schinecker’s most important tasks as CEO will be to use the ongoing digitization of the healthcare system for Roche, Schwan continued. “We want to use anonymized data from everyday clinical practice even more than before for our research.” Roche is one of the world’s largest clients for clinical studies. As a result, the pharmaceutical company is sitting on a huge treasure trove of data, which Schinecker is now supposed to use even better.
>> Read also: Roche boss Schwan puts on the board of directors Credit Suisse down
At the same time, Roche, under the new management duo of Schwan and Schinecker, is continuing to focus on cooperation and takeovers of innovative biotech companies. “We must always remain open to innovations that come from outside,” says Schwan.
He is handing Roche over in strong shape: In terms of share performance, Roche has clearly outperformed its local rival Novartis in recent years. Things also went well in the first half of the year: Operating profit rose by nine percent to CHF 12.67 billion.
Roche reiterated its forecast for the full year: Adjusted earnings per share are expected to grow by a low to medium percentage. The management promised the shareholders further increasing dividends.
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