AstraZeneca chair to step down next year

AstraZeneca chair Leif Johansson is to retire next year, it was announced on Tuesday, taking his time in the role to over a decade.

Johansson, 70, was first elected to the board of the Anglo-Swedish drugs company in April 2012.

Current UK corporate governance rules state that a chair should not stay in place for more than nine years. However, Johansson agreed to stay on last year to oversee AstraZeneca’s $39bn acquisition of US rare diseases specialist Alexion, and now intends to extend his tenure by another year to ensure help with succession planning.

The UK corporate governance code states that the recommended nine-year period can be extended "for a limited time" to facilitate succession planning.

AstraZenca said on Tuesday: "The board believes it would be in the best interest of shareholders for Mr Johansson to seek re-election at the annual general meeting in April 2022, and continue to share as chair for one further year, to facilitate succession planning and the transition to a new chair."

Should he be re-elected on 29 April, Johansson would then retire in April 2023.

The firm added that the search for Johansson’s replacement, which is being led by senior non-executive director Philip Broadley, was "proceeding well".

Chief executive Pascal Soriot took up his role around the same time Johannsson became chair. AstraZeneca is also looking for a successor for Soriot, although his departure date has not been set yet.

As at 1215 GMT, AstraZeneca’s UK shares were broadly flat at 9,129.0p.