Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of significant leadership hirings, firings and retirings across the industry. Please send the good word—or the bad—from your shop to Darren Incorvaia or Zoey Becker and it will be featured here at the end of each week.
Weight of market pressures pushes Novo CEO out
Novo Nordisk
Under a mutual agreement with the board of directors, longtime Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen—who recently shepherded the company through its GLP-1 growth boom—is heading for the exit. Novo didn’t mince words about the reason for the change, pointing to “recent market challenges” and the precipitous decline of the company’s share price “since mid-2024.” Since winning the initial GLP-1 race, Novo has struggled in the clinic; late last year, Eli Lilly revealed head-to-head trial data that found its obesity med Zepbound topped Novo’s weight loss counterpart Wegovy. And Novo has also struggled to impress with data sets on its next-generation obesity prospect CagriSema. Jørgensen, who has led Novo for eight years, will stick around for some time to help smooth the transition process as the company conducts an accelerated search for a successor. Story
Zealand taps Novo vet for obesity push
Zealand Pharma
Danish biotech Zealand Pharma is looking to boost its obesity efforts with the appointment of regulatory expert Steven Johnson as chief development officer. Johnson joins from UCB Biopharma, where he most recently served as head of regulatory stakeholders. He previously spent more than six years apiece at Medpace and Novo Nordisk in senior regulatory affairs positions. He began his career with an eight-year stint at the FDA, including serving as master reviewer in the Division of Metabolic and Endocrine Drug Products. Release
Aardvark sniffs out several new appointments
Aardvark Therapeutics
Aardvark Therapeutics selected multiple new executives to strengthen its management team as the company continues phase 3 development of its lead candidate for Prader-Willi syndrome. Aardvark is bringing on acclaimed diabetes scientist Timothy Kieffer, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer, while the commercial side will see a new chief commercial officer in Danny Villeneuve, who recently left behind the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder work he headed up at Ironshore Pharmaceuticals. Terrie Kellmeyer, Ph.D., will handle regulatory strategy as Aardvark’s new SVP of regulatory affairs, and Christian Zapf will be the legal go-to as general counsel. Release
> Sandy Rodriguez is leaving the McDonald’s golden arches for Eli Lilly’s lily pad, leaping from a stint as chief communications officer at the fast food behemoth to take on the same role at Lilly. LinkedIn
> BlueSphere Bio is bringing one of its board members to the executive team with the appointment of Alan Korman, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer. Release
> Experienced dealmaker Don Haut, Ph.D., is gene-editing-focused Arbor Biotechnologies’ newest chief business officer. Release
> Cancer biotech Veraxa has tapped Harpoon Therapeutics’ research VP Rick Austin, Ph.D., to be chief scientific officer. Release
> Translational science accelerator Slingshot Therapeutics, part of Syncona, is bringing Ed Savory, Ph.D., on board as head of chemistry. Release
> Belgian biotech Augustine Therapeutics is expanding, with Rie Schultz Hansen, Ph.D., joining as chief scientific officer and a new Danish subsidiary opening in Copenhagen. Release