AZ CFO Resigns

AstraZeneca’s chief financial officer, Jon Symonds, is resigning from the company at the end of July. He will join investment bank Goldman Sachs as a managing director in mid-September, according to a company statement. The company has begun an external search to replace Mr. Symonds, who joined the company — then Zeneca — from KPMG in 1997 and was involved in the merger negotiations with Sweden’s Astra. He was key in the company’s financial turnaround when share prices had dropped and when the company faced a series of problems with its products.

Mr. Symonds was a potential candidate to replace Tom McKillop as AstraZeneca’s chief executive in 2005, however, David Brennan, then head of the company’s U.S. operations, was appointed to the position. In a statement, the company said that Mr Symonds’ legacy at AstraZeneca included “a record of consistent strong financial performance and a mature, well structured global finance leadership team.”

“Jon has played a critical role in driving AstraZeneca to become one of the leading, most focused and most successful pharmaceutical companies in the world,” said Mr. Brennan.