Takeda hires new international operations heads

Takeda has moved to strengthen the leadership of its international operations activities with the appointment of two new executives.

Dr Frank Morich is to become executive vice-president of Takeda operations in Europe and the Americas from the beginning of October 2010, while Haruhiko Hirate assumes the role of senior vice-president for Asian operations this month.

Both roles have been newly created in order to help Takeda improve its global strategies and organise its management to meet the specific needs and demands of individual regions.

Yasuchika Hasegawa, president and chief executive officer of Takeda, expressed confidence that the experience of the two executives will allow the firm to capitalise on market growth.

He said: “The appointment of Dr Morich and Mr Hirate to Takeda’s international operations leadership team will further strengthen our entire global management and operations structure.”

Last month, Takeda was named in the FTSE4Good Global Index of the FTSE4Good Index Series, honouring the pharmaceutical firm’s commitment to environmental issues.