(Reuters) -AstraZeneca said on Tuesday its non-executive chairman Leif Johansson would retire next year following the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker’s annual general meeting, after having served 11 years in the role.
The Swedish businessman, 70, became chairman in 2012, around the same time Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot took charge. Soriot in an interview with the Financial Times last May indicated that succession planning had begun for him and Johansson.
The company said on Tuesday the search for a chair successor was “proceeding well.”
Last year, AstraZeneca had asked Johansson to continue in the role to oversee its now-completed $39 billion acquisition of rare diseases medicines maker Alexion.
“The Board believes it would be in the best interests of shareholders for Mr Johansson to seek re-election at the AGM in April 2022 and continue to serve as Chair for one further year,” AstraZeneca said in a statement.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
