Novartis changes executive committee

Robert Welteverden has been appointed head of Novartis Business Services (NBS), a role that will see him become a member of the executive committee and report into chief executive officer Vas Narasimhan.

Welteverden, who was previously head of business services for Syngenta, will join Novartis’ Basel base in Switzerland.

Narasimhan, said: “Robert’s deep understanding of business services coupled with his strong financial and commercial acumen make him the right person to lead NBS in the next stage of its evolution.

“Over the coming years, he will play a critical role in driving even higher levels of productivity and process standardisation across Novartis and I am confident that under his leadership, our NBS team will be able to unlock even greater value for us to reinvest in innovation and our exciting product pipeline.”

Additionally, Felix Ehrat, Novartis’ group general counsel has retired from the company and Shannon Thyme Klinger, currently chief ethics, risk and compliance officer, will succeed him.

Klinger initially joined Novartis back in 2011 as general counsel, North America for its biopharmaceutical arm Sandoz.

Commenting on her promotion, Narasimhan said: “Shannon has a proven track record as a strong thought leader with a commitment to ethics and integrity.

“She brings the combination of private practice and industry experience in Europe and the US that we need, and I have no doubt that the company will benefit from her judgment and expertise."

Lastly, Natacha Theytaz, global head internal audit will lead the ethics, risk and compliance organisation ad interim.

Theytaz joins the Swiss pharma giant from Roche, where she was chief audit and risk advisory executive.