CordenPharma has appointed Dr. Riku Heikki Rautsola as its new chief executive officer and president, Dr. Walter Kittl as its new chief operating officer, and Heiko Serwe as its new chief financial officer, effective as May 2018. 

Dr. Rautsola has an extensive global executive career spanning over 30 years in life-science companies with broad functions and increasing responsibilities along the biopharmaceutical value chain. His prior experience consists of high-level executive and supervisory board level positions within global companies as well as within medium and small-sized innovative corporations. On several occasions, Rautsola has been an interim executive for CordenPharma, initiating progress for the group.

Dr. Kittl has over 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, contract manufacturing organization and fine-chemical industries. He began his career as a project manager in research and development and manufacturing at DSM Fine Chemicals. He then held various senior management positions with increasing levels of responsibility at Roche, where he became site manager of the chemical manufacturing site in Basel, Switzerland, and at Siegfried AG, where he was president and general manager of Siegfried USA before becoming the head of global technical operations with oversight over all drug-substance and drug-product sites.

Heiko Serwe will join CordenPharma from the industrial holding company, Adcuram Group, where he was director of finance and controlling for a number of portfolio companies. Prior to that, Serwe held various positions of increasing responsibility at Gerresheimer, a pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices company, culminating as head of finance and controlling.

Dr. Macniell Esua, chief compliance officer, CordenPharma International and Dr. Michael Quirmbach, chief business officer, CordenPharma International, will remain part of the CordenPharma management team, respectively taking those roles in 2016 and 2014.

Source: CordenPharma