Paul Hudson has been in the CEO job at Sanofi since September. Now this week he’ll meet with investors and Wall Street analysts to reveal his strategy for the giant French pharma company.
Ahead of that important meeting, Hudson said that he has been traveling country to country on a “listening tour,” talking with Sanofi employees and getting their input.
“As somebody who comes in from the outside,” he said, “I have an opportunity to have fresh eyes right across all aspects of the business.”
With 2018 revenues of $42 billion, Sanofi has more than 100,000 employees and business operations all around the globe as a dominant player in the vaccine market that also makes drugs that treat diabetes, cancer, blood disorders, asthma, and dermatitis. It is ranked on Fortune’s list of the world’s 500 biggest companies.
Hudson has an impressive track record when it comes to successful drug product launches. Before Sanofi, he headed up the pharmaceuticals business at Novartis where he was credited with turning the heart drug Entresto into a blockbuster.
As he studies the drugs in Sanofi’s medicine cabinet, he says he taking a “dispassionate” and “critical look.” Any changes he makes, he says, will depend on a fundamental question about each drug. “Is somebody’s life going to be improved, transformed, saved by something we have that’s unique to us?” he asks.
What’s his diagnosis so far? “I’ve seen some things that get me very excited,” he says enthusiastically.
What market analysts certainly want to hear from Hudson is what he plans to do to get investors excited about Sanofi stock. It’s been flat for the past five years.
“I think there’s a story that can be better told about the company,” Hudson says, adding that many people have been asking him questions on what the company stands for and where’s it headed. He plans to address all that this week in Boston, saying “I think the clarity is overdue.”
Watch the video above for more.