Tokyo – (January 31, 2025) – Daiichi Sankyo Company, Ltd (TSE: 4568) has appointed HiroyukiOkuzawa, 62, to succeed Sunao Manabe, DVM, Ph.D. as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective April 1,2025.
Dr. Manabe will transition from his current role of Representative Director, Executive Chairperson and CEOto Representative Director and Executive Chairperson while Mr. Okuzawa will transition to RepresentativeDirector, President and CEO.
Under Dr. Manabe’s leadership, Daiichi Sankyo’s pioneering science and technology led to the resurgence ofantibody drug conjugate (ADC) development within the pharmaceutical industry, leading to three of thelargest licensing deals in history along with the approvals of ENHERTU® and DATROWAY®, two precisioncancer medicines invented with Daiichi Sankyo’s DXd ADC Technology that are changing the way thatmetastatic breast cancer is treated.
Daiichi Sankyo’s five-year business plan (FY2021-2025) is progressing successfully with the rapid andglobal expansion of its oncology business. In order to ensure the solid achievement of FY2025 goals and tostrengthen its management structure, Daiichi Sankyo’s Board of Directors appointed Mr. Okuzawa as thenew CEO at the board meeting on January 31, 2025, based on the Nomination Committee’s report. Thistransition in April 2025 will occur as Daiichi Sankyo enters the final year of its current five-year businessplan and it starts full scale preparation for the next five-year business plan (FY2026-2030).
Mr. Okuzawa joined Daiichi Sankyo in 1986 and has served as Representative Director, President and ChiefOperating Officer (COO) since 2023. He also held the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for two yearsand other senior leadership roles in international business, corporate strategy and human resources during histenure at Daiichi Sankyo. Mr. Okuzawa graduated from Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo with a degree inSocial Sciences. Mr. Okuzawa has 50,741 shares of the company as of September 30, 2024.
“Hiroyuki Okuzawa has played a pivotal role in advancing our current five-year business plan, drivingunprecedented global growth for our company,” said Sunao Manabe. “Beyond his extensive experience as an international business leader and impressive accomplishments while serving as both COO and CFO atDaiichi Sankyo, Hiroyuki has been a key figure in transforming our corporate culture by exemplifying ourcore behaviors of inclusivity and diversity, collaboration and trust, and continuous development and growth.As the new CEO, I am confident that Hiroyuki will continue to provide strong leadership, propelling DaiichiSankyo to the forefront of the global pharmaceutical industry by enhancing patient care worldwide throughcreating new medicines with our expertise in science and technology.”
“I am deeply honored to be the next CEO of Daiichi Sankyo and will follow Sunao Manabe’s exceptionalleadership and unwavering commitment to patients and their families,” said Hiroyuki Okuzawa. “Building onthis foundation, I will continue to leverage Daiichi Sankyo’s strengths in science and technology, and willcontinuously develop our talent globally. Under my leadership, we will create a 2035 vision and a next fiveyear business plan (FY2026-2030), continuing to enrich the quality of life worldwide.”
About Daiichi Sankyo
Daiichi Sankyo is an innovative global healthcare company contributing to the sustainable development ofsociety that discovers, develops and delivers new standards of care to enrich the quality of life around theworld. With more than 120 years of experience, Daiichi Sankyo leverages its world-class science andtechnology to create new modalities and innovative medicines for people with cancer, cardiovascular andother diseases with high unmet medical need.