Sanofi's Board of Directors met on February 11, 2026, and decided not to renew the Director mandate of Paul Hudson. As a result, Paul Hudson?s last day as Chief Executive Officer will be on February 17, 2026 at the end of business. The Board thanks him for his valuable contributions to the transformation and development of the Group over the last six years.
Following the proposal of the Appointments Committee, the Board of Directors appointed Belén Garijo as Chief Executive Officer. She will take up her duties at the end of the Group's Annual General Meeting on April 29, 2026. The Board will also propose to the shareholder vote the candidacy of Belén Garijo as a director of the Group.
Olivier Charmeil, Executive Vice President, General Medicines, and member of the Executive Committee since 2011, will assume the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer during this transition. Belén Garijo will bring an increased rigor to the implementation of Sanofi's strategy and accelerate the preparation of the Group's future. Her priority will be to strengthen the productivity, governance, and innovation capacity of Research & Development.
Belén Garijo, MD, joined Merck KGaA in 2011 and became its Chief Executive Officer in 2021, becoming the first woman to lead a DAX40 company in Germany. She is a Spanish national who worked in a hospital for six years, before embarking on a brilliant career in the pharmaceutical industry, first in the Research and Development department of Abbott, then for 15 years at Sanofi. She was Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations for Europe and Canada and a member of Sanofi's Executive Committee.
She has operated in many European countries and the US, where she led the integration of Genzyme during its acquisition. Born in Almansa, Spain on 31 July 1960, Garijo a medical doctor specialist in clinical pharmacology. She began her career as a practicing physician at Madrid's La Paz Hospital.
After a six-year career at the hospital, Garijo moved to work in the Research and Development (R&D) department of Abbott, then for 15 years at Sanofi. During her previous tenure with Sanofi, she was Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations for Europe and Canada and a member of Sanofi's Executive Committee, operating in many European countries and the US, where she led the integration of Genzyme during its acquisition. A strategic leader recognized beyond the pharmaceutical industry, she is a member of the Board of Directors of BBVA and was a member of the Board of Directors of L'Oréal for 10 years.
She joined Merck KGaA in 2011 and became its CEO in 2021, becoming the first woman to lead a DAX40 company in Germany. Since 2022, Garijo has been included on the international annual lists of Most Powerful Women published by Fortune and Forbes. In 2022, she received the German Diversity Honorary Award and was designated an Honorary Brand Ambassador for Spain by King Felipe VI.
In 2024, she received the John M. McCloy Award from the American Council on Germany for helping build strong transatlantic relations and her dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
