Pfizer Appoints First Female CFO Following Strong Quarter

Pfizer has named Cecile Guegan, a company veteran, to serve as its next Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President following a three-month term as interim CFO.

She replaces former Pfizer CFO Dave Denton, who stepped down in August for an opportunity outside the pharmaceutical industry.

Cecile – who will be Pfizer’s first-ever female CFO – has held finance roles with Pfizer throughout her two-decade-long career there.

She will be responsible for driving the company’s financial operations, execution and strategic planning.

Cecile will also oversee all corporate finance functions, including audit, treasury, investor relations, tax, insurance, operations planning and analysis, corporate controllership, and business finance and analytics.

From finance roles to financial leadership

In her most recent role, Cecile directed financial operations and reporting of Pfizer’s pharmaceutical business at the company's site in New York.

In other positions, she served as a strategic partner to group presidents and chief commercial officers, oversaw long-term forecasting for key product portfolios, led several enterprise acquisitions and integrations and co-led a strategic initiative to identify new growth areas.

Discussing Cecile’s appointment, Albert Bourla, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, says: “Cecile is an exceptional finance leader who knows our company and industry deeply.”

He goes on to say that she has a proven track record of “optimising financial performance while fuelling growth”.

“Her more than 25 years of experience paired with her strategic vision will provide the financial rigour and focus this next chapter demands as we aim for meaningful growth,” Albert adds.

Discussing her appointment, Cecile says she is “honoured” to step into the role.

She adds: “My focus remains on executing a disciplined approach… to drive revenue growth later in the decade and beyond.”

A strong Q3 for Pfizer

This week, Pfizer announced its fiscal third-quarter results, which topped analyst estimates. The company hiked its full-year outlook as demand for its products grew.

The company is expecting full-year revenue to total US$62bn to US$64bn, compared to a previous outlook of US$60.5bn to US$62.5bn.

Pfizer is working on an industry comeback after its monumental success in the pandemic era waned over the following years.

As demand for COVID products drops and rivals threaten Pfizer's business model, Albert has been exploring ways to reinvigorate growth at the pharmaceutical giant.

Despite sales declines, Pfizer’s COVID products topped estimates for the quarter. The company’s vaccine generated US$808m in sales, compared to the US$770.4m that analysts were expecting.

Discussing the company’s performance for the quarter, Cecile adds: “This quarter’s performance demonstrates clear progress against our objective of returning to growth towards the end of the decade.”

Pfizer partners:

BioNTech: Pfizer collaborates with BioNTech to pioneer mRNA vaccine technologies, co-developing and distributing global prophylactic immunisations against severe infectious respiratory diseases.
CEO: Uğur Şahin | Headquarters: Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Bristol Myers Squibb: Pfizer collaborates with Bristol Myers Squibb to co-develop and commercialise innovative oral anticoagulation therapies designed to prevent thromboembolic cardiovascular disorders.
CEO: Christopher Boerner | Headquarters: Princeton, New Jersey, US

Astellas Pharma: Pfizer collaborates with Astellas to co-develop, market, and expand clinical indications globally for advanced prostate cancer targeted endocrine treatments.
CEO: Naoki Okamura | Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan