Sanofi made a slew of appointments to its executive committee, the company announced Thursday.

Notable among them is the appointment of Houman Ashrafian as EVP, head of R&D. He succeeds John Reed, who left for a position at Johnson & Johnson earlier this year. 

Additionally, Madeleine Roach will serve as head of business operations and Emmanuel Frenehard as chief digital officer.

Bill Sibold, who is currently head of the specialty care GBU at Sanofi, will be leaving for an external opportunity. Sanofi is also bringing on Brian Foard to helm the specialty care GBU in the interim.

“These new appointments, a healthy mix of internal promotions and a newcomer to Sanofi, bring three highly qualified global leaders with new insights and world-class expertise in their field,” Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said in a statement. “I am confident in their capacity to inspire our people, execute and deliver on our strategy and support our ambition to be an innovative, inclusive and scientifically driven leader.”

Ashrafian previously served as managing partner of the global private equity and venture capital investment platform at SV Health Investors. He also has a lengthy history in building healthcare companies, including his roles as co-founder and chair at Alchemab Therapeutics, Dualitas, Enara Bio and Sitryx, among others.

He also previously worked as VP and head of the clinical science group at pharma company UCB.

At Sanofi, Ashrafian will lead and build out the company’s development strategy, as well as bolster its pipeline. In a statement, Hudson pointed to the French drugmaker’s 80 programs currently in clinical development – with 27 readouts of early and mid-stage molecules expected in the next year.

Hudson pointed to five positive read-outs in the first half of 2023, including Phase 3 results that showed Dupixent was effective in improving lung function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, as showing “our commitment to Sanofi’s scientifically-driven roadmap couldn’t be any stronger.”

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration also approved Sanofi and AstraZeneca’s preventive RSV therapy for children.

“[Ashrafian] brings a wealth of expertise as a scientist and in bringing high value transformational medicines from discovery to market,” Hudson said. “With Houman’s leadership and deep understanding of science, we aspire to make our R&D transformation sustainable.”

Roach, meanwhile, was promoted to her new position of EVP, head of business operations from her previous role as head of internal audit and risk management, which she held since joining Sanofi last year. 

Previously, she was head of global finance services Asia Pacific and global business services site lead in Malaysia for AstraZeneca. Before her time at the British pharma giant, she worked as a consultant in corporate tax and accounting.

Frenehard will step into the chief digital officer role from his previous position as global head of digital at Sanofi. During his time at the company, he spearheaded the digital accelerator and digital commerce programs.

Foard, meanwhile, will serve as head of specialty care GBU ad interim while Sanofi seeks a permanent successor to Bill Sibold.