UCB’s chair Gerhard Mayr joins Almirall board

Almirall has appointed UCB's chair Gerhard Mayr to its board of directors.

Mayr becomes an independent director of the Spanish pharma company, who will be keen to benefit from Mayr's 40 years in the pharma industry.

In addition to his current position at Belgium-based company UCB, which he has filled since May 2012, his career has also included spending more than 30 years at Eli Lilly.

He first joined Lilly in 1972 as a sales rep, serving in increasingly senior roles across the world, until he retired from the company in March 2004, having spent his last five years as executive VP of pharmaceutical operations.

Both during and following his time at Lilly, Mayr served on a number of boards, including those of eye treatment specialists Alcon, the European Federation of the Pharmaceutical Industry (EFPIA), chemicals company OMV and the Bank of Austria.

He was also previously chair of both the international and European executive committees of the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America (PHrMA).

In addition to his role at Almirall, Mayr currently serves as a member of the board of life sciences company Lonza and a member of the board of the Vienna Science, Research and Technology Foundation.