Bayer has announced that Shweta Rai will take over as Managing Director of Bayer Zydus Pharma and Country Division Head (CDH) for Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Business in South Asia effective, January 1, 2024. 

Manoj Saxena will move out of his present role to take on the role of CDH for Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Division and Senior Bayer Representative, Bayer Group for the Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) cluster, with effect from the same date.

Shweta joined Bayer in 2019 and her last assignment was as Business Unit Head. With a distinguished career spanning over 22 years, Shweta has a strong track record of leading high performance diverse teams across strategic business positions in the pharmaceuticals and medical device sectors.

Her expertise extends across a myriad of therapy areas, including Cardiology, Diabetes, Women’s Health Care, Immunology, Virology, Anti-infectives, Vaccines, Neurology, Orthopedics and Pain Management. Prior to this, she worked with companies of repute like Johnson & Johnson, MSD Pharmaceuticals, IQVIA and Pfizer.

Shweta holds a bachelor’s degree in Zoology (Honors) from Miranda House Delhi University, a Postgraduate degree in Management Studies, Mumbai and completed a Strategic Management Program from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kolkata.