Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited has appointed Christophe Weber as chief operating officer (COO) at the company's board of directors meeting and also as a candidate as the next chief executive officer (CEO).

Weber will join Takeda to take the role of COO by April 2014 and is expected to also become president and representative director upon approval at Takeda's Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders and Board of Directors Meeting at the end of June 2014. At the same time in June, current Takeda President & CEO, Yasuchika Hasegawa, is expected to be named Chairman and CEO.

Weber's career has demonstrated strong leadership and has contributed to significant financial improvement in positions of increasing responsibility at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Currently, Weber is president & general manager at GSK Vaccines, CEO of GSK Biologicals SA in Belgium and member of the GSK global Corporate Executive Team.

From 2008 to 2010, Weber served as Asia Pacific SVP and regional director at GSK Asia Pacific in Singapore. He has lived with his wife and two children in seven different countries on three continents during his career.

"We have extremely high expectations for Mr. Weber's contributions to further enhance and accelerate the implementation of Takeda's global strategy based on his extraordinary and broad business experiences including an impressive track record in top global pharmaceutical companies," said Yasuchika Hasegawa, president & CEO of Takeda.

Takeda's primary strategic management goal for the coming years is to transform Takeda into a company that is competitive on a global basis in every aspect of its business and organization. By fully leveraging the sales organizations now operating in more than 70 countries through the acquisition of Nycomed, Takeda is now moving its business activities forward in order to deliver sustainable growth appropriate as a leading global pharmaceutical company.

Takeda will continue to meet the expectations of its stakeholders, with the aim of becoming a truly global pharmaceutical company contributing to better health and a brighter future for all.