Christa Lombardi has joined Takeda as communications head for its U.S. neuroscience business unit and U.S. commercial operations.

Lombardi started in the role on March 27, reporting to Amy Atwood, VP and head of communications for the U.S. business unit. Her scope will include product and pipeline communications, employee comms, change management, executive communications and issues and crisis comms.

Lombardi said she will work closely with leadership teams to understand business priorities and drive communications counsel and execution. In the coming weeks, she will spend time with the leadership teams of Takeda’s U.S. business unit comms team, its senior leadership group, the neuroscience unit and the commercial operations team. 

Lombardi said she admires the team Atwood has built at Takeda and was inspired by her planning approach that includes a focus on creativity and wellness. Lombardi added that she aims to be part of therapeutic teams to which she has a personal connection.  

“As someone who lives with major depressive disorder and has experienced other mental-health struggles, working in the neuroscience space with the Takeda team provides an opportunity for me to connect to my personal interests while also expanding into other areas that excite me,” said Lombardi.

Since 2021, Lombardi has worked for pharmaceutical company Organon as director of global and U.S. women’s health communications. Organon is seeking her replacement.

Lombardi was previously DeVries Global’s SVP of health and wellness. Before that, she worked at Ketchum and Cohn & Wolfe. 

In September, Takeda also hired Molly Rabinovitz Stock as its U.S. business unit storyteller.

Takeda’s global hub in the U.S. is in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the company also has locations in Georgia, Minnesota, California and Illinois. The company focuses its research and development on oncology, rare genetics and hematology, neuroscience and gastroenterology, as well as targeted investments in plasma derived therapies and vaccines, it said in a statement. 

This story originally appeared on PRWeek US.