Roche has appointed Daniel O’Day, currently chief operating officer (COO) of Roche Diagnostics has been appointed as COO of Roche Pharma effective September 1, 2012. He will succeed Pascal Soriot, who will leave Roche and take on new responsibilities outside the Group.

Daniel O’Day will be succeeded by Roland Diggelmann, currently Head of the Asia-Pacific Region within Roche Diagnostics, who has been appointed as a new member of the executive committee by the board of directors.

Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche, said: “Pascal Soriot has made a significant contribution to the successful integration of Genentech and has successfully led the Pharmaceuticals division in an increasingly challenging market environment. I am very pleased that with Daniel O’Day we are appointing a new Head of Roche Pharma with a very impressive track record in both the Diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals division. Roland Diggelmann, the new Head of Roche Diagnostics, has a broad and internationally based commercial and marketing experience.”

Daniel O’Day, a US citizen, was born in 1964. He began his career in 1987 at Roche in the US Pharmaceuticals organization in Sales and Marketing. Afterwards, he held various positions in Roche Pharma in Switzerland, Japan, and Denmark. In 2006 O’Day joined Roche Diagnostics and became Head of the Business Area Molecular Diagnostics. On January 1 2010 he was appointed chief operating officer for Roche’s global diagnostics business.

Roland Diggelmann, a Swiss citizen, was born in 1967. Before joining Roche in 2008, he held various leading positions in sales and marketing in Europe and Asia-Pacific with the medical technology companies Sulzer Medica/Centerpulse and Zimmer. He was also responsible for the integration of Centerpulse’s Japanese business into Zimmer. At Roche Diagnostics, he has led the region Asia-Pacific since 2008 as member of the divisional leadership team.