Lonza’s Board of Directors has appointed Philippe Deecke as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Group, effective from 1 December 2021. Philippe will succeed Rodolfo J. Savitzky as a member of the company’s Executive Committee.
Deecke joins the company from Novartis, where he held a series of senior finance positions, most recently the role of Global CFO for Novartis Oncology. In this role, he was responsible for the long-term financial performance, planning, controlling, reporting and compliance of a major Novartis business unit.
Albert M. Baehny, Chairman, Lonza, commented: “It gives us great pleasure to welcome Philippe to our leadership team. He joins us at a critical moment in our journey as we redouble our strategic focus on operational excellence and business growth.”
Pierre-Alain Ruffieux, CEO, Lonza, added: “Philippe brings a wealth of relevant experience alongside a strong understanding of customer needs and manufacturing in the pharma industry. His expertise will prove to be invaluable as we continue to capitalize on our strong market position and drive our long-term success.”
Before commencing his tenure with Novartis, Deecke worked for more than six years at McKinsey as Associate Principal and Member of the European Pharma and Medical Products Practice. In this role, he specialised in developing growth strategies for a wide range of clients in the pharmaceutical industry.
Deecke holds an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School (US), a Master’s Degree in Industrial Management and Manufacturing from ETH Zurich (CH) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from ETH Zurich (CH).