Former Merck boss becomes new Sanofi CEO
Sanofi parts ways with CEO Paul Hudson
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Sanofi's Board of Directors met on February 11, 2026, and decided not to renew the Director mandate of Paul Hudson. As a result, Paul Hudson’s last day as Chief Executive Officer will be on February 17, 2026 at the end of business. The Board thanks him for his valuable contributions to the transformation and development of the Group over the last six years.
Following the proposal of the Appointments Committee, the Board of Directors appointed Belén Garijo as Chief Executive Officer. She will take up her duties at the end of the Group's Annual General Meeting on April 29, 2026. The Board will also propose to the shareholder vote the candidacy of Belén Garijo as a director of the Group(*).
Olivier Charmeil, Executive Vice President, General Medicines, and member of the Executive Committee since 2011, will assume the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer during this transition.
Belén Garijo will bring an increased rigor to the implementation of Sanofi's strategy and accelerate the preparation of the Group's future. Her priority will be to strengthen the productivity, governance, and innovation capacity of Research & Development.
Belén Garijo, MD, joined Merck KGaA in 2011 and became its Chief Executive Officer in 2021, becoming the first woman to lead a DAX40 company in Germany. She is a Spanish national who worked in a hospital for six years, before embarking on a brilliant career in the pharmaceutical industry, first in the Research and Development department of Abbott, then for 15 years at Sanofi. She was Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations for Europe and Canada and a member of Sanofi's Executive Committee.
She has operated in many European countries and the US, where she led the integration of Genzyme during its acquisition. A strategic leader recognized beyond the pharmaceutical industry, she is a member of the Board of Directors of BBVA and was a member of the Board of Directors of L'Oréal for 10 years.
Frédéric Oudéa, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said: “Sanofi's Board of Directors thanks Paul Hudson for his work and the strategic initiatives he has launched during his tenure. The Board is pleased to welcome Belén Garijo as Chief Executive Officer. She is a well-recognized leader in our industry with an undisputable reputation. She knows the Sanofi Group very well, where she has held important positions and achieved many successes for 15 years. She has the experience and profile to accelerate the pace, strengthen the quality of execution of strategy and lead the next growth cycle of the company, which is essential to build the Group's future. In a rapidly changing pharmaceutical industry, we place Sanofi in experienced hands and Belén Garijo's brilliant international career attests to her strategic vision and her ability to drive profound and value-creating transformations with a culture of rigor to serve the best interests of patients.”
(*) The appointment of Belén Garijo as a director, as well as the amendment of the articles of association to raise the age limit of the Chief Executive Officer upon appointment, necessary for this election, will be proposed to the vote of the shareholders at the General Meeting of April 29, 2026.
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