New local leadership for AstraZeneca with Mark Fladrich moving to Europe. He will be succeeded by Paul Spittle from 1 June.
Mr Fladrich, who is also on the Board of Medicines Australia, has been promoted to the position of Area Vice President, Western and Southern Europe, after more than three years in charge of AstraZeneca’s operations in Australia and New Zealand.
He is a former Chairman of Medicines Australia and one of the longest serving and most politically well-connected current managing directors.
According to a statement, Mr Fladrich has steered AstraZeneca through patent expiries of several of its blockbuster drugs and leaves the company with a strong focus in its core therapy areas of cardiovascular, diabetes, respiratory and oncology medicines.
“I am excited to be moving to a role that provides an opportunity to help several key markets for AstraZeneca achieve outstanding launches for our exciting pipeline of products,” Mr Fladrich said.
“While I am saddened to be leaving my home country, I believe that AstraZeneca’s operations in Australia and New Zealand are on course for a strong return to growth, and I am confident that Paul Spittle’s leadership and broad commercial experience across multiple markets make him extremely well-suited to deliver our strong portfolio of new medicines to patients,” he said.
Mr Fladrich rejoined AstraZeneca in 2003, having left the company to hold senior roles at Allergan and Faulding Pharmaceuticals in Australia. Since 2003, he has held senior positions in the company's global marketing and sales organisation, and headed its business in Germany.
“I am excited to lead the teams in Australia and New Zealand and to join them in bringing the great science emerging from our labs to the healthcare community and to patients who’ll benefit from our innovative therapies,” said Mr Spittle, who joined AstraZeneca in 2007.
Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Mr Spittle worked for MSD, where he began as a sales representative, Napp Pharmaceuticals and Schering-Plough. He holds an Honours Degree in Economics from the University of Birmingham, and a diploma in Marketing from Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK.
