The FINANCIAL — Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. on September 11 announced that its Board of Directors has named Kåre Schultz to become the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Schultz will succeed Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg, who will continue to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer until Mr. Schultz joins the Company. Today’s leadership announcement represents the successful completion of the global search process to identify the best leader for the Company and was executed by the Teva Board of Directors, with the assistance of Heidrick & Struggles. Mr. Schultz will be relocating to Israel and based out of the Company’s Petah Tikva headquarters.
Mr. Schultz is a seasoned veteran in the healthcare industry with a distinguished, nearly thirty year career in global pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. Over the course of his career, Mr. Schultz has developed a unique perspective overseeing generic and specialty drug portfolios, while managing complex business operations around the world. He most recently served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of H. Lundbeck A/S, where he is credited with leading significant restructuring initiatives and launching a robust turnaround strategy focused on driving a sustainable global cost structure and operational model. As a result of his leadership, the company is on track to achieve all-time high revenue and earnings. Prior to his role as President and CEO of H. Lundbeck A/S, Mr. Shultz served as Chief Operating Officer of Novo Nordisk, where he had a key role in building the company into one of the world’s best-performing drugmakers and implementing a metrics-focused approach to the company’s operations, according to Teva.
“With extensive global pharmaceutical experience, a strong track record executing corporate turnaround strategies, driving growth and international expansion at low incremental cost and delivering on promises to shareholders, as well as a commitment to a culture of compliance, Kåre is the right leader to take Teva to the next level,” said Dr. Sol J. Barer, Chairman of Teva’s Board of Directors. “Kåre has deep insight into the global pharmaceutical industry and a keen knowledge of the generic and specialty drug markets. His proven strategic, financial and operational capabilities and his strong commitment to growth will enhance value for all stakeholders and position Teva for long-term success. He brings a strong sense of corporate citizenship, and his disciplined commitment to excellence makes him a clear professional and cultural fit with our company. We are pleased to welcome a world-class leader of Kåre’s stature to Teva and look forward to working closely with him to build the Teva of the future for shareholders, employees and patients around the world.”
Mr. Schultz said, “I am honored to join Teva, an iconic company that I have long admired during my career. What drew me to Teva, and what makes Teva different from its peers, is its unique commitment to growing an extensive global reach while continuing to provide new and high-quality treatments for patients and an innovative culture for its employees. I am proud to be joining a company that helps millions of patients around the world on a daily basis with its broad range of generic and specialty drugs and solutions. I look forward to working closely with the entire team at Teva to build a future of success for the Company and its stakeholders.”
Dr. Barer continued, “On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Yitzhak for taking on the role of interim CEO during this critical period. Yitzhak’s leadership and insight have greatly helped the Company remain focused on the execution of its key strategic priorities.”
Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg said, “We are delivering on the commitments we have made over the last several months. We are optimizing our operations and geographical footprint while focusing our resources on the specialty and generics pipeline assets that offer the most attractive return on investment. In addition, we are on course to hit our target of generating at least $2 billion from the sale of non-core assets, which we will use to strengthen Teva’s balance sheet. It is a privilege to lead Teva and I look forward to continuing to do so during this time, and will work with Kåre to ensure a seamless transition once he joins.”
About Kåre Schultz
Mr. Schultz, 56, is a seasoned veteran in the healthcare industry who has distinguished himself through his experience leading financial and restructuring initiatives at global companies. Since 2015, he has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of H. Lundbeck A/S, which he joined as the company was facing the loss of critical patents. Mr. Schultz conducted a top to bottom evaluation of the business and implemented a robust turnaround strategy that involved cutting operating costs while targeting new product launches.
Prior to joining Lundbeck, Mr. Schultz worked for nearly three decades at Novo Nordisk, where he served in a number of leadership roles, including Chief Operating Officer, Vice President in Product Supply and Director of Product Planning and Customer Services in the Diabetes Care Division. At Novo Nordisk, Mr. Schultz played a major role in modernizing the company’s large scale biologic production and leading the company’s expansion into the US and Chinese markets.
In addition to his time at Novo Nordisk, Mr. Schultz has held positions at McKinsey and Anderson Consulting. In these roles, he developed a unique global perspective on the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, expanded his deep financial acumen, demonstrated a commitment to strong compliance principles and enforcement and oversaw business operations and teams across Europe and North America and the Middle East.
Mr. Schultz serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Royal Unibrew A/S, as a member of the Board of Directors of LEGO A/S and as a member of the Board of Directors of Bitten og Mads Clausens Fond, the holding vehicle for Danfoss A/S.
He holds a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Copenhagen.
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