Sanofi appoints new chief digital officer in C-Suite revamp

Sanofi's new CEO Paul Hudson has completed his revamp of the company’s executive committee, including the appointment of a dedicated chief digital officer. 

Hudson was appointed in June last year to replace the retiring Olivier Brandicourt and announced sweeping changes to the company’s executive committee that saw chief medical officer and chief digital officer Ameet Nathwani leave the company. 

The four new appointments announced today include the appointment of Arnaud Robert as dedicated chief digital officer. 

Hudson’s plan has been to reduce the size of the company’s executive committee from 14 to 10 to streamline and simplify the decision-making process. 

Robert is currently chief digital officer at the cruise line firm Viking Cruises and will join Sanofi on 15th June. 

His brief is to drive Sanofi’s digital, data and technology strategy, in line with the many other big pharma companies that are looking to digital technology to improve their offering to healthcare professionals and patients. 

Robert is a newcomer to the pharma sector but according to Sanofi has a “strong background in consumer, omni-channel experience” including platform technology, big data and “front-end digital experience”. 

He previously held leadership positions at The Walt Disney Company and Nike, where he designed and launched the Apple Watch and the Nike+ digital community. 

Also joining is Natalie Bickford, who is chief people officer, Julie Van Ongevalle, who is head of consumer healthcare and Thomas Triomphe, who is head of Sanofi Pasteur. 

Bickford joins on 15 June from Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second largest entertainment business, which includes Legoland Resorts, Madame Tussaud’s and SEALIFE aquariums among other brands. 

She held previous human resources leadership positions at Sodexo, AstraZeneca, and Kingfisher. 

Van Ongevalle starts on 1 September, replacing Alan Main, and is currently global brand president of Origins, a division of Estée Lauder Companies based in New York City. 

Triomphe is a promotion from Sanofi’s ranks and replaces the outgoing David Loew. 

He is currently head of franchises and product strategy for Sanofi Pasteur and begins on 15 June.