Sanofi’s Board of Directors has announced that Belén Garijo will become the company’s next Chief Executive Officer. The decision follows the Board’s meeting on February 11, 2026, where it was decided not to renew Paul Hudson’s mandate as Director. Hudson will step down from his role as CEO at the close of business on February 17, 2026. The Board expressed its gratitude for his contributions over the past six years.
The appointment of Garijo comes after a proposal by the Appointments Committee. She is set to assume her new responsibilities following Sanofi’s Annual General Meeting scheduled for April 29, 2026. At this meeting, shareholders will also be asked to vote on her candidacy as a director and an amendment to raise the age limit for CEOs upon appointment.
During the transition period, Olivier Charmeil, Executive Vice President of General Medicines and a member of Sanofi’s Executive Committee since 2011, will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer.
Garijo is expected to focus on strengthening productivity, governance, and innovation in Research & Development at Sanofi. Her previous experience includes serving as CEO of Merck KGaA since 2021 and being recognized as the first woman to lead a DAX40 company in Germany. Before joining Merck KGaA in 2011, she spent six years working in hospitals and held various roles in pharmaceutical companies including Abbott and Sanofi itself—where she worked for fifteen years as Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations for Europe and Canada and served on the Executive Committee.
Her career has spanned multiple European countries and the United States; notably, she led Genzyme’s integration during its acquisition by Sanofi. In addition to her pharmaceutical leadership roles, Garijo serves on BBVA’s Board of Directors and previously served ten years with L’Oréal’s board.
Frédéric Oudéa, Chairman of Sanofi’s Board of Directors stated: “Sanofi’s Board of Directors thanks Paul Hudson for his work and the strategic initiatives he has launched during his tenure. The Board is pleased to welcome Belén Garijo as Chief Executive Officer. She is a well-recognized leader in our industry with an undisputable reputation. She knows the Sanofi Group very well, where she has held important positions and achieved many successes for 15 years. She has the experience and profile to accelerate the pace, strengthen the quality of execution of strategy and lead the next growth cycle of the company, which is essential to build the Group’s future. In a rapidly changing pharmaceutical industry, we place Sanofi in experienced hands and Belén Garijo’s brilliant international career attests to her strategic vision and her ability to drive profound and value-creating transformations with a culture of rigor to serve the best interests of patients.”
Sanofi describes itself as an R&D-driven biopharma company focused on developing medicines and vaccines using artificial intelligence technology.
