AstraZeneca’s chief financial officer Simon Lowth is to leave the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker to take the same post at natural gas major BG Group.
Mr Lowth, who served as interim chief executive at AstraZeneca from June 2012 until Pascal Soriot was appointed in October last year, will leave the company at the end of October, after the reporting of third quarter results. He has been with the drugs major since 2007 and AstraZeneca says that a search for his successor is under way.
Dr Soriot said Mr Lowth “has made a significant and lasting contribution to AstraZeneca’s success, helping put the company on a stronger footing for the future”. He will be paid his base salary and benefits up until the end of October and will receive no payments for the remainder of the notice period. He will also not be eligible to receive an annual bonus for 2013.
BG chief executive Chris Finlayson said that Mr Lowth “knows the gas and power industry well and has a good background in engineering”. He will be paid a basic salary of £725,000, in line with industry CFO peers and will be compensated with BG shares for the loss of his 2013 AstraZeneca annual bonus.
Mr Lowth’s departure comes six months after two other stalwarts of the company, the heads of R&D and commercial operations – Martin Mackay and Tony Zook – left following a management shake-up.
