The senior management of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) is undergoing a shakeup. Brendan O’Grady, Executive Vice President, North America Commercial, is leaving the company, and his departure has led to a wave of new appointments, all from within the company's ranks. O'Grady announced his intention of leaving to pursue a career opportunity outside of the pharmaceutical industry. He is a Teva veteran, and was appointed to his current role in charge of Teva's main market in 2017, when Kare Schultz took up the role of CEO of the company.
Teva, once Israel's largest company, now has a market cap of "only" $9.7 billion, after a series of crises in the past few years. The company's share price has fallen 9% so far this year, and it has fallen 37% since Schultz took charge. This is due in part to legal proceedings to which Teva is exposed because of actions that took place before his time. For example, the opioids affair - legal proceedings arising from the sale of addictive painkillers in the US - has weighed on the share for a long time.
Sven Dethlefs, who currently serves as Teva’s Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Portfolio and International Markets Commercial has been appointed the new head of North America Commercial to replace O'Grady.
Dethlefs current role will be split into two. Mark Sabag, who currently serves as Chief Human Resources Officer and head of Global Communications, Brand and ESG, has been appointed as Executive Vice President, International Markets Commercial, while Eli Shani will be promoted to Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Portfolio. Galia Inbar will be promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, and head of Global Communications, Brand and ESG in place of Sabag. The new management line-up contains four Israelis, with six of the company's senior management resident in Israel. The changes will come into effect on August 15.
"On behalf of the Teva Board of Directors and our executive management team, I want to thank Brendan for his many contributions to Teva during his 30 years with the company. Most recently, for his leadership in helping to stabilize the US business and setting Teva up for future growth as head of North America Commercial, during challenging times," Schultz said. "I am pleased to announce the appointment of Sven Dethlefs to this critical role. Sven has been part of the Executive Management team since 2017 and held leadership roles in Teva's global specialty business, commercial European business, and in our global operations. I have every confidence that Sven will bring great strength to the regional business and the benefit of patients.
"I am also proud to announce additional changes to our leadership team, which include the transition of Mark Sabag to lead the commercial business in our International Markets, and the appointment of Galia Inbar and Eli Shani to lead our Human Resources, Global Communications, Brand and ESG, and our Global Marketing and Portfolio, respectively. These appointments demonstrate the quality and depth of our leadership bench, and I look forward to working closely with Sven, Mark, Galia, Eli, and the rest of the team as we continue to lead Teva to meet its targets, implement its strategy and fulfill its mission."
Separately, Yaron Friedman, equities desk manager in Bank Hapoalim's research department, has commented on the report in "The Wall Street Journal" on the signing of a settlement by some of the main parties in the opioids affair - the distribution companies and Johnson & Johnson. According to the report, Teva is not a party to the settlement. Friedman points out that the settlement reported now is similar to the settlement framework reached by Teva in 2019, but that since then there has been no progress on the matter, "and it can be assumed that that settlement is off the agenda."
Friedman writes that it is hard to estimate at present what the consequences for Teva will be, but that "in the light of the progress made by five of the main entities involved, we cautiously estimate that Teva too is nearing a compromise in the affair."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 21, 2021
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