The former boss of a global sexual wellness business has been appointed by international healthcare firm Alliance Pharma as chief operating officer in a move it said would support its growth strategy focused on consumer health.
Chippenham-headquartered Alliance, whose products range from stomach ulcer treatments to anti-dandruff shampoo, is also taking on an interim CEO while it awaits the return of current CEO Peter Butterfield, who announced in November that he is taking time away from the business for personal reasons.
News of his leave of absence, along with a warning over future profits due to an order shortfall, triggered a 42% slump in the group’s share price in one day.
New COO Jeyan Heper, pictured below, led Chinese-owned condom maker Lifestyles Healthcare as CEO after it was acquired from Australia industrial group Ansell.
According to Alliance, he delivered significant growth through market and category expansion, “building a strong e-commerce platform in China and the US, and improving operational effectiveness”.
In a career spanning more than 24 years, he has also held senior executive roles in brand management at Procter & Gamble and marketing at Danone Group, and was most recently head of global transformation at British American Tobacco (BAT), leading the development and execution of the strategy to broaden its reach into non-nicotine consumer products.
Alliance said as COO he would bolster the group’s operational capabilities, identify growth opportunities, and drive further the company’s strategy to expand its consumer health presence.
He will join Alliance, which holds marketing rights to around 80 consumer healthcare brands, on 1 February.
The group added that Mr Butterfield, pictured below, who had been expected back this month, would now return “on a phased basis” in the first quarter of this year.
The interim CEO – who has yet to be recruited – will “focus primarily on strategic delivery and external stakeholder engagement”, it said, and was expected to remain with the group throughout its upcoming appeal hearing at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which is scheduled to start on 5 June.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is seeking to disqualify Mr Butterfield from serving as a company director following a probe into allegations that he colluded with six directors of other businesses to raise the NHS price of widely used nausea drug prochlorperazine, earning the businesses millions of pounds of excess profits.
Alliance generates revenues from a mix of direct, distributor and e-commerce sales in 100-plus countries and employs around 250 people across Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Alliance chair David Cook said: “I am delighted that Jeyan is joining Alliance. The company has grown and developed significantly since I became chair, building an international footprint with a strong portfolio of consumer healthcare brands.
“The appointment of a COO will ensure that the organisational structure is appropriate for the future of the business.
“Jeyan will bring significant additional expertise from the global consumer healthcare sector to keep the Company well positioned to deliver continued growth over the longer term.
“We very much look forward to welcoming Peter back to Alliance, the board believes that the appointment of the interim CEO will help to make his return seamless.”
Alliance shares edged up by 35.5p to 61.2p following the announcement, returning them for the first time to their value ahead of the announcement of Mr Butterfield’s temporary leave in November – details of which have not been made public by the group.
