The financial investor Nordic Capital is coming up with well-known names in the pharmaceutical industry for its newly acquired drug provider Advanz.

According to FAZ information, Steffen Wagner will move from competitor Stada as CEO to Advanz in the coming year, and Andreas Stickler from Merck Darmstadt as CFO in January.

Both are well known to experts as second-tier prominence in the pharmaceutical industry - notable personalities for a little-known company like Advanz.

So the question of where Stickler is going is answered en passant - because Merck had only announced its departure from the company this week.

Klaus Max Smolka

Editor in business.

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Wagner is head of Europe at Stada and as such in the position of "Executive Vice President" is a member of the extended management committee.

In 2018 he joined the manufacturer of generic drugs and over-the-counter products, which at the time had just been taken over by the private equity companies Bain and Cinven.

In June it became known that Stada's Germany boss Eelco Ockers would leave and the home market would be slammed into Wagner, which meant that Germany would lose its special role.

Wagner had previously worked for Novartis for seven years and before that again for the management consultancies McKinsey and Bain, the latter of which has nothing to do with the private equity firm of the same name.

Focus on acquisitions

In his LinkedIn profile, Wagner specifies business growth, transformation, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as the focus.

Stickler, who comes from Merck Darmstadt, also has an M&A background, is currently CFO of the medical division and previously headed the group-wide department for M&A and corporate development, which is why he is also known to investment bankers and other merger experts.

The personal details can be used as an indication that Nordic Capital sees Advanz as a platform for acquisitions.

The financial investor announced the acquisition of the London-based specialty pharmacist in June.

The transaction was valued at more than $ 2 billion.

Wagner will now replace the CEO Graeme Duncan, Stickler CFO Adeel Ahmad.