Novartis names Jonathan Symonds deputy CFO and CFO designate
- Symonds joins Novartis from Goldman Sachs starting September 1, 2009
Basel, May 13, 2009 - Novartis announced today that Jonathan Symonds, currently Managing Director, Investment Banking, at Goldman Sachs will be joining Novartis on September 1st as deputy CFO and as CFO designate, reporting to Raymund Breu, who will retire on March 31, 2010 at the age of 65, after 35 years of outstanding service to Novartis.
"Jonathan Symonds' financial expertise, broad industry experience and deep knowledge of the healthcare industry make him especially suited to take on the responsibilities of CFO of Novartis from Raymund Breu," said Dr. Daniel Vasella, Chairman and CEO.
Symonds, 50, spent eight years as CFO at AstraZeneca, where his position encompassed Finance, M&A, Strategy, IT, Purchasing, Business Development and Licensing. Before that he was Finance Director at Zeneca and previously was a partner at KPMG.
Disclaimer This release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the Group's business, which can be identified by terminology such as "will," or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding Mr. Symonds' potential succession to the CFO position at Novartis. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Group regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that Mr. Symonds will in fact succeed to the CFO position at Novartis. In particular, management's expectations could be affected by, among other things, the uncertain outcome and progress of the ongoing global financial and economic crisis, including uncertainties regarding future global exchange rates and uncertainties regarding future demand for our products; uncertainties involved in the development of new pharmaceutical products; unexpected clinical trial results, including additional analysis of existing clinical data or unexpected new clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the Group's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; uncertainties regarding actual or potential legal proceedings, including, among others, product liability litigation, litigation regarding sales and marketing practices, government investigations and intellectual property disputes; competition in general; government, industry, and general public pricing and other political pressures; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Group's assets and liabilities as recorded in the Group's consolidated balance sheet; and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Novartis is providing the information in these materials as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About Novartis Novartis AG provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines, diagnostic tools and consumer health products. Novartis is the only company with leading positions in these areas. In 2008, the Group's continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 41.5 billion and net income of USD 8.2 billion. Approximately USD 7.2 billion was invested in R&D activities throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 98,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.