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UCB’s Board of Directors has announced that Gerhard Mayr will become its new chairman, as of May 2012.
Mayr will take over the reins from Karel Boone, whose term is due to end in April, due to reaching the upper age limit of 70.
“I am delighted to hand over to Gerhard Mayr,” said Boone.
“I am convinced that all internal and external stakeholders will give him their full support.
“With his excellent knowledge of UCB and his exceptional experience especially in the innovative pharma industry he will continue to support the transformation of UCB becoming the patient-centric biopharma leader.”
Mayr, a member of UCB’s Board of Directors since 2005, is Independent Director and Member of the Remuneration and Appointments Committee.
A native of Austria, he received a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Zurich, Switzerland) in 1969, and a master of business administration degree from Stanford University in 1972.
In March, 2004, he retired as executive vice president of pharmaceutical operations at Eli Lilly & Company after 32 years of service.
He had been responsible for global pharmaceutical operations and sales and marketing worldwide at Lilly – a leading innovation-driven corporation.
Mayr is past chairman of both the International Executive Committee and the Europe Committee of the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America.
He was a board member of the European Federation of the Pharmaceutical Industry from 1995-97 and 2000-2002.
Karel Boone has been a member of UCB’s Board of Directors since 2000 and chairman since 2008.
He is also member of the Audit Committee and the Remuneration and Nomination Committee.
Boone started in 1966 as an executive member of the Board of Directors of Lotus Bakeries (Lotus Biscuits at this time) and became CEO in 1974 when Lotus Biscuits merged with Corona.
He was also Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors from 1992 until 2006, when he became non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.
