Joseph Jimenez steps down as CEO of Novartis

The Chief Executive Officer of Novartis, Joseph Jimenez, will leave office in the beginning of next year and will be replaced by Dr. Vasant Narasimhan, released the Swiss pharmaceutical company. He will step down in January after leading the Swiss pharmaceutical giant through a tumultuous eight years marked by big patent expiries and intensifying scrutiny on drug pricing in USA.
Jimenez is handing over the reins at a crucial juncture, with the medicine producer yet to make a decision on the future of its ailing Alcon eye-care business or its stake in crosstown rival Roche Holding AG. Joseph Jimenez, who head of Novartis in 2010, said the time is right to give way to the management, and his family is "ready to return to the Silicon Valley and the United States".
"I’ve been CEO for eight years and I’ve been pretty public about the fact that I didn’t think a CEO should stay much longer than that", said Joseph Jimenez. "You come in, you see what you want to change, you change it, and then it’s time to pass it on to a successor", added he.
Vasant Narasimhan, currently chief medical director and global director of medicine development, will take office on February 1. Narasimhan joined Novartis in 2005 and occupies various leadership positions in the company.
Novartis said that Jimenez will remain "available for advice and support" until his formal withdrawal.
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