Lonza Group has appointed Pierre-Alain Ruffieux to the role of Chief Executive Officer. Albert Baehny has served in the role on an interim basis since November 2019. He will work with Pierre-Alain to ensure a smooth transition before returning to his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Pierre-Alain brings more than 20 years of experience in biopharmaceuticals, most recently as Head of Global Pharma Technical Operations at Roche, where he oversaw pharmaceutical commercial manufacturing and supply chain operations.

He joins the company during a time of increasing global awareness of the critical industry contribution made by pharma and biotech manufacturing technologies. Lonza is working to capitalize on future opportunities as it refocuses its attention on long-term business growth, supported by a sustained series of confident CAPEX investments.

Pierre-Alain Ruffieux, Chief Executive Officer, Lonza said, “I am very pleased to commence my tenure as CEO of Lonza Group. I have had the opportunity to work with Lonza as a customer many times in my career to date, so I know both the strength and value of its expertise, its technology and its people. I hope my experience as a customer will give me a unique perspective on how Lonza can develop its world class service offering in the coming years.

“I would like to recognize the exceptional commitment of the global employee community. Its dedication and perseverance has enabled Lonza to maintain business continuity through the first wave of the pandemic. I would also like to share my thanks with Albert for his leadership over the last year. He has guided the company through a period of extensive internal transformation in the context of widespread global uncertainty. Albert has overseen the decision to divest LSI and the negotiation of a landmark ten-year collaboration agreement with Moderna on its mRNA platform. I look forward to building on Lonza’s current success in the years to come, ensuring that we deliver for all our stakeholders at a unique moment for the pharma and biotech industry.”