John P. Gargiulo has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. (DSI), the U.S. division of Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. Mr. Gargiulo succeeds Joseph P. Pieroni, who is retiring after leading Daiichi’s U.S. commercial operations for the past 14 years.

“John’s experiences within the pharmaceutical industry for the past 25 years have prepared him well for his new role and responsibility,” said Mr. Pieroni. “He has been instrumental in building and shaping the company since its inception in 1996, and has touched nearly every aspect of our business operations. His broad industry experience enabled him to learn and grow the commercial operations organization.”

Mr. Gargiulo most recently served as senior vice president of commercial operations, where he oversaw U.S. marketing, supply chain, managed markets and new product planning. Mr. Gargiulo was instrumental in advancing DSI from a joint venture with Parke-Davis to its current status as a leader in hypertension therapy, with an emerging presence in thrombosis and oncology.