AstraZeneca Appoints Chief Financial Officer
AstraZeneca PLC has today announced the appointment of Simon Lowth as an Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer with effect from November 5, 2007. In this role he will be responsible for Finance and Information Services.
Mr Lowth joins AstraZeneca from Scottish Power PLC where he was Finance Director following two years as Executive Director, Corporate Strategy and Development. Mr Lowth was a key member of the team that drove the strategic transformation of Scottish Power. He played a critical role in the rejection of the E.On bid in 2005 and in the negotiation of the successful bid from Iberdrola S.A. in November 2006. As Finance Director, he led Scottish Power’s group-wide performance and risk management processes, delivering strong EPS growth through business development and tight cost control. Mr Lowth left Scottish Power in May 2007 following completion of the sale to Iberdrola.
Mr Lowth’s move to Scottish Power in 2003 followed 15 years’ experience with the global management consultancy, McKinsey & Company, latterly as a senior Director responsible for the firm’s UK Industrial Practice. At McKinsey, Mr Lowth advised leading multi-national companies on a wide range of strategic, financial and operational issues.
“Simon brings to AstraZeneca a track record of delivering good financial results combined with extensive strategy and business development expertise. I am confident that he will be a valuable addition to the Senior Executive Team and an able leader of AstraZeneca’s strong finance team,†said David Brennan, CEO of AstraZeneca.
“Simon has unique insight into the dynamics of companies driving change and re-structuring for future success. He put this experience into practice driving the turnaround at Scottish Power, contributing to significant improvements in business and financial performance. AstraZeneca has embarked on its own change journey including the transformational move into large-scale biologics this year, so Simon’s background makes him particularly well-suited to this role,†said Louis Schweitzer, Chairman of AstraZeneca.
Mr Lowth has an engineering degree from Cambridge University and an MBA from London Business School.