Hospira Appoints Quality Expert

Zena G. Kaufman has been named senior vice president of Quality at Hospira, Inc. Ms. Kaufman will have overall responsibility for Hospira’s global quality systems and serve as a member of the company’s senior leadership team, reporting to F. Michael Ball, chief executive officer.

“Zena is a recognized global expert in pharmaceutical quality systems, and her proven experience will help establish quality as a strategic, competitive advantage across our global operations,” said Mr. Ball. “Hospira remains fully dedicated to restoring our long-established reputation for the highest-quality products and best possible service for our customers, and I’m confident we now have the right team in place to deliver against these imperatives.”

Ms. Kaufman has 24 years of experience. Most recently, she served as divisional vice president of Global Quality Systems and Global Pharmaceutical Operations at Abbott Laboratories. Prior to Abbott, she held various roles of progressive responsibility in the quality organizations at Pfizer, Pharmacia and G.D. Searle.

Hospira has also appointed several new operations and quality leaders. Matt Stober has been named corporate vice president of U.S. Pharma Operations, responsible for Hospira’s Rocky Mount, NC facility as well as plants in McPherson, KS, Austin, TX, and Clayton, NC. He joins the company from Johnson & Johnson, where he served as vice president and global platform leader for Solids, Parenterals & Vaccines.

Shane Ernst has been appointed vice president of quality at Rocky Mount, accountable for all site quality as well as site remediation operations. Most recently he served as vice president of quality operations and regulatory affairs at DSM Pharmaceutical Products.

Marty Nealey has been appointed vice president of operations and plant manager at Rocky Mount. Mr. Nealey is accountable for leading manufacturing and remediation efforts. Most recently, he served as executive director and plant manager for Purdue Pharmaceuticals L.P., responsible for manufacturing sites in NC and NJ.

Andrew Knudten has been named vice president of operations and plant manager at McPherson, where he will be responsible for the facility’s operations. He joins Hospira from Novartis, where he served as the global head of contract manufacturing and operations strategy.

Thomas Templeman, Ph.D. was appointed vice president of Pharma Operations Excellence. This role was created to ensure that process change is systemic across the company’s U.S. plants. Dr. Templeman most recently served as senior vice president of Integrated Supply Chain at Liquidia Technologies.

“In their previous roles, our new team members have successfully delivered the highest standards of quality and regulatory compliance,” said Mr. Ball. “These seasoned industry veterans will work with Hospira’s current leadership to remediate the Rocky Mount facility and extend improvements there across all Hospira sites. I’m confident that their extensive backgrounds in operations and quality, expert knowledge of FDA regulations and strong leadership abilities will help take Hospira to the next level of operational excellence.”