Sanofi appointed Belén Garijo as its new chief executive officer, marking a leadership transition as the company enters its next strategic phase.

Garijo formally assumes the role at the close of Sanofi’s Annual General Meeting on April 29, 2026. The board will propose her candidacy as a director to shareholders at that meeting.¹

Shareholders will also be asked at the meeting to approve an amendment to the company’s articles of association to raise the age limit of the chief executive officer upon appointment, a step required for Garijo’s election as director.¹

Olivier Charmeil, executive vice president of general medicines and a member of the executive committee since 2011, will serve as interim chief executive officer in the interim.

The appointment signals an emphasis on execution and research performance at a time when large pharmaceutical companies are under pressure to demonstrate sustainable growth, research productivity, and disciplined capital allocation.

The decision was taken by Sanofi’s Board of Directors on February 11, 2026, where the board also decided not to renew the director mandate of Paul Hudson, whose final day as chief executive officer will be February 17, 2026.¹ In a statement, the company’s board says it “thanks him for his valuable contributions to the transformation and development of the Group over the last six years.”

Garijo takes the helm following a six-year period under Hudson, who reshaped the company’s strategic direction. During his tenure, Sanofi divested a controlling stake in its consumer health division, sharpened its focus on specialty medicines and immunology, and repositioned itself as what Hudson described as “R&D led, AI-powered.”

Hudson’s departure comes just two months before his director mandate was due for renewal, and adds to a series of recent leadership changes across the European pharmaceutical sector, including new chief executives at UK-based GSK in January, and at Denmark’s Novo Nordisk last August.

Why did Sanofi choose Garijo?

According to Sanofi, Garijo “will bring an increased rigor to the implementation of Sanofi's strategy and accelerate the preparation of the Group's future.” Her priority is expected to be strengthening the productivity, governance, and innovation capacity of research & development.¹

Garijo, a medical doctor, brings both clinical and industry experience, as she joined Merck KGaA in 2011, becoming its chief executive officer in 2021, marking the first woman to lead a DAX40 company in Germany.¹

Her previous tenure at Sanofi included leadership roles across multiple European markets and the United States, where she led the integration of Genzyme during its acquisition, significantly expanding Sanofi’s rare disease footprint and reshaped its specialty care portfolio—an area that has remained strategically important.¹

Board Chairman Frédéric Oudéa framed the leadership change as a move toward accelerating performance in a shifting industry landscape. “Sanofi's Board of Directors thanks Paul Hudson for his work and the strategic initiatives he has launched during his tenure,” he said. “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.”

Sources

1. Press Release: Belén Garijo to become Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi Sanofi February 12, 2026 https://www.sanofi.com/en/media-room/press-releases/2026/2026-02-12-06-30-00-3236866
2. Sanofi ousts CEO Hudson after stalled turnaround at vaccine giant Reuters February 12, 2026 https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/sanofi-appoints-beln-garijo-new-ceo-after-deciding-not-renew-current-ceo-hudsons-2026-02-12/