Daiichi Sankyo has appointed Simon King as chief people officer. This newly created role combines previously existing leadership positions within the company’s human resources function and unifies all human resources professionals under a single function head. As chief people officer, Mr. King will report directly to Koji Ogawa, head of the company’s U.S. corporate division.
 
In this capacity, Mr. King will play a critical leadership role overseeing human resources for all of Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., which encompasses U.S.-focused functions, as well as several global and R&D functions that reside within the company’s three U.S. Divisions. He will be responsible for developing and implementing the company’s go-forward strategy to attract, retain and engage employees to participate in Daiichi Sankyo’s transformation into a global pharma innovator with a competitive advantage in oncology.
 
“Simon brings a unique background and perspective to Daiichi Sankyo. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an honors degree in genetics and spent more than 25 years in human resources leading global, progressive people strategies that have enabled people and organizations to evolve and thrive,” said Ken Keller, president and chief executive officer, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. “As we continue the next phase of our transformation and growth as a science-based, patient-centered company with a primary focus on oncology, Simon’s clear passion for developing people and organizations will help us attract and nurture the top talent critical to reach our goals.”
 
Mr. Simon joins Daiichi Sankyo from Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he was most recently the global head of talent and workforce innovation, spearheading efforts to attract new talent and introduce new innovative practices. He was also head of HR global research and development where he led the people strategy responsible for supporting the entire division.