AstraZeneca chief financial officer announces resignation

Jon Symonds, chief financial officer at AstraZeneca, has announced that he is to resign from this position, with this decision becoming effective at the end of July.

Mr Symonds joined Zeneca in 1997, being involved in its merger with Astra in the following year and being appointed as chief financial officer of the newly-combined firm AstraZeneca thereafter.

Prior to his employment at Zeneca, Mr Symonds worked at KPMG for 17 years. He is leaving the firm to join international investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, with the company stating that he has left a legacy of a well-structured finance team and strong performance.

AstraZeneca reports that it is conducting a search outside the company for a new chief financial officer.

David Brennan, chief executive officer of AstraZeneca, said: “Jon has played a critical role in driving AstraZeneca to become one of the leading, most focused and most successful pharmaceutical companies in the world.”

He added that through his work with Mr Symonds, he has been party to the benefits of his industry knowledge, strategic ability and financial guidance.

In April 2007, AstraZeneca released its financial figures for the first quarter of 2007, recording revenues of $6.97 billion (3.48 billion pounds), a nine per cent rise on the same period last year.