After nearly four years as CSL’s Chief Operating Officer, this week Dr. Paul McKenzie takes over as CEO. His first stop is Kankakee, Illinois, to visit employees at a CSL Behring manufacturing facility and to see a plasma donation center scheduled to open later this month.
CSL includes business units CSL Behring, which makes medicines for people who have rare and serious diseases; CSL Seqirus, which develops and manufactures vaccines; and the recently acquired CSL Vifor, a leader in iron deficiency and nephrology (kidney care). CSL also operates CSL Plasma, one of the largest collectors of donated human plasma used to make medicines for diseases such as hemophilia and primary immune deficiency.
In 2022, CSL’s first gene therapy was approved and the company opened a new R&D campus in Marburg, Germany, and a $900 million plasma fractionation facility in Australia. In a video message to CSL employees Monday morning, McKenzie said he appreciated their passion and drive.
“One of my highest personal priorities is to ensure that your passion and energy continue to grow,” he said. “I believe CSL is uniquely equipped to usher in the next era of innovation and to make a lasting impact on communities around the world. That potential is what energizes me every single day.”
McKenzie brings 30 years of leadership experience in the global biotechnology industry and previously served at the executive level at Biogen and held senior roles in R&D and manufacturing at Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck. At CSL, he transformed global end-to-end operations; guided CSL Plasma through the COVID-19 pandemic; and advanced CSL Seqirus' differentiated portfolio strategy.
Learn more about his tenure as Chief Operating Officer:
