Novartis appoints Elizabeth Barrett as Oncology Head

Novartis announced today that Elizabeth (Liz) Barrett, currently Global President Oncology at Pfizer, Inc., has been appointed CEO Novartis Oncology and a member of the Executive Committee of Novartis, effective February 1, 2018. She will be based in Basel. Mrs. Barrett succeeds Bruno Strigini who decided to retire from Novartis for personal reasons. Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan, designated CEO of Novartis, said: Liz is a highly accomplished and recognized oncology and people leader with an impressive record of building successful business organizations in the US, Europe and globally. She has been instrumental in creating new commercial models, driving innovation in close partnership with research and development and leveraging business development opportunities. Her long-time commercial pharma industry experience, marketing skills, and perspectives make Liz a great fit to further develop our oncology business.