21 Aussie Country Leaders exit in a year

Country Leadership across Australian pharma has undergone a seismic shift in the last year, with 21 bosses departing in just 12 months.

A Pharma in Focus analysis of senior leadership movements for the 12 months from August 2025, reveals of the 21 bosses who stepped down from an ANZ Country Leadership role, only eight have remained with the same company. All but two of that cohort have shifted overseas.

Six leaders have departed without announcing their next move. These include Matt Zeller who left Arrotex as CEO after seven months; Nirelle Tolstoshev who departed Astellas in March; Takeda's Dave Pearce who will finish up in September; Glen Pearce who has finished up Gedeon Richter; Mike Graham who left ViiV Healthcare and Ali Rossiter who left Novartis in June for personal reasons but has taken a non-executive Director role since.