Sanofi has appointed Suresh Kumar as a new member of the Executive Committee, effective from 1 June. Kumar joins Sanofi from Oliver Wyman and will take the position of Executive Vice President, External Affairs.
In this newly created role, Kumar will set Sanofi's strategy and priorities for public affairs activities, interactions with governments and international organisations – and align internal and external communications around these priorities. As part of bringing these activities together in a more integrated way, the Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility teams will report to Kumar.
Kumar has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry beginning in 1978 in India with Johnson & Johnson. At Warner Lambert from 1989 to 1999, he held increasingly senior roles in consumer healthcare in Canada, North America, Latin America and Asia. He re-joined Johnson & Johnson in 1999 as a Member of the Group Operating Committee and International Vice President of the Worldwide Consumer Pharmaceuticals business.
In 2006, Kumar joined the Clinton Foundation as Special Advisor focused on Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2010, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Kumar as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service where he spearheaded global trade for the Obama Administration.
Since 2013, Kumar has been a Partner with management consultancy firm Oliver Wyman, leading its Public Sector Practice and as part of the Health and Life Sciences Team.