Takeda has named Julie Kim as its next CEO. She will replace Christophe Weber who plans to step down in June of 2026 after leading Japan’s largest drugmaker for 11 years. The company called the promotion of Kim part of a “multi-year succession process.”
Kim, 54, came to Takeda in 2019 with the company’s $62 billion acquisition of Shire. Since April 2022, she has been the president of Takeda’s U.S. operations. Before that, Kim headed up the company’s plasma-derived therapies business.
“Takeda is a unique company, and I am deeply honored to have been chosen to lead it,” Kim said in a release. “Thanks to Christophe’s phenomenal leadership, Takeda has become a global biopharmaceutical powerhouse with a promising late-stage pipeline. I am excited to guide Takeda through the next phase.”
Weber, 58, came to Takeda in 2014 after 20 years at GSK, including the last three heading up its vaccine business. The Frenchman served as Takeda’s chief commercial officer for a year before taking over as Takeda’s first non-Japanese CEO since the company was established in 1781. During his tenure, Takeda’s revenue nearly doubled from $15.2 billion in FY 2015 to a projected $29.8 billion in FY 2024.
“During Christophe’s 12 years of leadership, Takeda has transformed into a competitive, global R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company, with a long-term sustainable business model,” Takeda chairman Masami Iijima said.
Weber will not take a seat on the board after his retirement, Takeda said. Kim will be proposed as a board member at its annual shareholders meeting in 2026, the company added.
“For several years, I have worked with the Board to ensure a smooth succession,” Weber added. “Now is the right time to appoint my successor given our competitive growth outlook, new product launches expected from the second half of 2026 onwards and the anticipated retirement of some external independent directors in the coming years.”
Kim, who was honored as one of the Fiercest Women in Life Sciences in 2020, earned an MBA from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dartmouth College. After starting her career as a consultant, she made the plunge into industry, joining Baxter in the early 2000s.