Matthias Zachert leaves Merck KGaA and the stock drops

Chutes and Ladders

Welcome to this week's Chutes and Ladders, our roundup of hirings and firings throughout the industry. Please send the good word--or the bad--from your shop to Michael Gibney (email | Twitter) or Emily Mullin (email | Twitter) and we will feature it here at the end of each week.

Matthias Zachert leaves Merck KGaA and the stock drops

Merck KGaA's CFO left the company to head a specialty chemical company. Matthias Zachert, who is credited for engineering a cost-cutting initiative at the company, set off a 12% stock slide with news of his departure. At the time, Merck had no succession plan, and analysts were worried. Story

Merck
Matthias Zachert left the CFO position.


Novo Nordisk
Eddie Williams steps up to senior vice president.


Pharma

> Novo Nordisk ($NVO) appointed Eddie Williams as senior vice president of biopharmaceuticals. Release

> Purdue Pharma named Mark Timney president and CEO. Release

Jeff Yuen joined AAIPharma Services and Cambridge Major Laboratories as executive vice president of global quality. Release

> ImmunoGen ($IMGN) appointed Eric Guempel as vice president of product strategy and program management. Release

> Dave Spence joined Legacy Pharmaceutical Packaging as its CEO. Story

Biotech

> Gilead Sciences ($GILD) has promoted CFO Robin Washington to executive vice president; Dr. John McHutchison, formerly senior vice president, liver disease therapeutics, to executive vice president in charge of clinical development programs in oncology, respiratory diseases and inflammation; and Paul Carter, formerly senior vice president of international commercial operations, to executive vice president in charge of Gilead's worldwide commercial organization. Release

> Joseph Oliveto, Chelsea Therapeutics' ($CHTP) interim president and CEO since July 2012, has been named president, CEO and a member of the company's board of directors. The company also named Keith Schmidt to the position of chief commercial officer. Release | More

> NIH has appointed Dr. Hannah Valantine to the newly created position of chief officer for scientific workforce diversity. Release

> Sorbent Therapeutics appointed Tom O'Neil as its CFO. Release

> Biothera appointed Peter Maimonis its vice president of biomarker development. Release

> Vivione Biosciences named Peggy Cook chief science officer, Dr. Matthew Gombrich chief medical officer and Matthew Shyba corporate secretary of its wholly owned subsidiary, Vivione Biosciences LLC. Release

> Accelerator named Thong Le its CEO. Release

> Deanna Church and Dr. Robert Nussbaum joined Personalis' R&D and scientific and clinical teams, respectively. Release

Medical Devices

Covidien ($COV) CFO Charles Dockendorff announced his plans to retire from the company at the end of 2014. The company said it's now searching for a replacement. More

Michael Rousseau, previously group president of St. Jude Medical ($STJ), has been promoted to chief operating officer. Eric Fain, previously president of the company's Implantable Electronic Systems Division, has been promoted to group president of the company. Release

> Neurotrope has hired Dr. Richard Scheyer as vice president and chief medical officer; Ira Weisberg as vice president, commercial operations; and David Crockford as vice president, regulatory affairs. Release

> Gregory Brooks joined NeuroSigma as its senior vice president and chief commercial officer. Release

Drug Delivery

> Civitas Therapeutics appointed Mark Iwicki its president and CEO. Release