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BASEL, Switzerland — Naomi Kelman has been appointed as head of the Novartis OTC Division and will become a permanent attendee to the executive committee of Novartis.
The Switzerland-based pharmaceutical giant said Thursday that Kelman joins the company from Johnson & Johnson, where she has held several leadership roles within both the consumer and medical device/diagnostic sectors.
In her new post at Novartis, Kelman will report to chief executive officer Joseph Jimenez.
"With the upcoming Alcon merger, we have decided to put additional focus on two important businesses which today comprise the Consumer Health Division, OTC and Animal Health, by streamlining and simplifying our decision making process," stated Jimenez. "We look forward to Naomi joining our leadership team. Her experience in consumer businesses, combined with her drive for results, make her well-suited to run our OTC business."
Novartis also said the OTC and Animal Health businesses will become separate Novartis divisions, in addition to the Pharmaceuticals, Sandoz (generic drugs), Vaccines & Diagnostics Divisions.
As previously announced, after the completion of the merger between Novartis and Alcon, CIBA Vision and Novartis ophthalmic medicines will be merged into the new Alcon eye care division of Novartis, according to the company. Until the close of the Alcon transaction, George Gunn will continue to manage the CIBA Vision business. Plans call for Gunn to remain a member of the executive committee in his new role as head of Animal Health and, on March 2, to also become responsible for corporate social responsibility for Novartis.
