She will also be the Country Division Head for Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Business in South Asia
Bayer announced that Shweta Rai will take over as Managing Director of Bayer Zydus Pharma and Country Division Head (CDH) for Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Business in South Asia effective, January 1, 2024. Manoj Saxena will move out of his present role to take on the role of CDH for Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Division and Senior Bayer Representative, Bayer Group for the Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) cluster, with effect from the same date.
Rai joined Bayer in 2019 and her last assignment was Business Unit Head. With a distinguished career spanning over 22 years, Rai has a strong track record of leading high-performance diverse teams across strategic business positions in the pharmaceuticals and medical device sectors. Her expertise extends across a myriad of therapy areas, including cardiology, diabetes, women’s healthcare, immunology, virology, anti-infectives, vaccines, neurology, orthopaedics and pain management. Before this, she worked with companies of repute like Johnson & Johnson, MSD Pharmaceuticals, IQVIA and Pfizer.
Rai holds a bachelor’s degree in Zoology (Honors) from Miranda House Delhi University, a Postgraduate degree in Management Studies from Mumbai and completed a Strategic Management Program from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kolkata.
Rai said, “I am honoured to take on this new role within the organisation. I am committed to building on the strong foundation that has been laid by Manoj. I am confident we can continue to build on the successes we have witnessed in the region so far and take Bayer’s mission of ‘Health for All, Hunger for none’ forward. I am excited to work closely with internal and external stakeholders to continue delivering innovative healthcare solutions and exceptional value to our patients.”
Saxena said, “As I transition to a new role and country within our incredible organisation, I am excited about the fresh challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. I am happy that Shweta is taking over this role for South Asia. She has been part of the India leadership team and demonstrated strong leadership over the years. I am equally confident that she will take Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals business to greater heights and help us leverage the emerging growth opportunities in this region. I am grateful for the unwavering support of our dedicated teams and look forward to contributing to our shared success in this exciting new chapter”.
Saxena joined Bayer in 2009 and has served in various leadership positions across multiple Asia Pacific countries. He is also currently the President-Elect of the Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI).
