Cian O’Brien, an experienced biopharma leader who has been with the company for over 20 years, has been appointed as Site Head at Sanofi Waterford.
Cian succeeds Amy Brennan who takes on a new role as Head of Rare Disease, Oncology & Immunology (RDOI) Cluster for Sanofi.
"Amy’s contribution to the Waterford site spans more than two decades and she leaves a legacy of manufacturing excellence that will allow the site to continue to serve our patients well into the future. We wish Amy well with her new position," a spokesperson for Sanofi said.
"We warmly welcome Cian as Site Head, effective from October 2024, and his plans to continue to drive growth at the site for Sanofi, through innovation and performance."
Speaking as he takes up the new position, Cian O’Brien said: “I am excited to be appointed to this position at a time of immense opportunity and growth for Sanofi in Waterford.
"I look forward to leading an amazing team, that I have the privilege to be a part of, as we continue to innovate and deliver for our patients across the world.
"I am ambitious for what’s to come as we embrace the next chapter of our Play to Win journey at Sanofi, in our ambition to be the leading immunology company in the world.”
Local vision, global expertise
Originally from Waterford, Cian brings extensive experience to the role, having joined the Waterford site team as a project engineer in 2003. He has held roles of increasing responsibility in Ireland and in the United States, with expertise in biologic drug substance and drug product manufacturing.
In the same period, Sanofi Waterford has grown and diversified to serve new groups of patients, while the site team has increased more than five-fold. Cian has been a member of the site leadership team since 2019, during which time he has been responsible for engineering, operational excellence, digital transformation, as well as the manufacture and supply of medicines for patients living with rare disease and autoimmune conditions.
A SETU graduate and MBA candidate, Cian holds a bachelor degree in engineering from South East Technological University (SETU) and is a postgraduate of Technological University of Dublin. He is currently pursuing an MBA in SETU.
Sanofi, one of Waterford's leading employers, is a global healthcare company with a presence in over 90 countries.
It provides potentially life-changing treatment options and life-saving vaccine protection to millions of people globally.
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