WHIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After a nearly 40-year career with Bayer, Philip Blake, Senior Bayer Representative (SBR) and President of Bayer in the United States, has announced his retirement from this leadership role, effective July 31. Since 2012, Blake has been responsible for all U.S. activities of the worldwide Bayer Group. He previously served as President & CEO, Bayer Inc. and Head of Bayer HealthCare in Canada.
Blake will remain on board as a consultant to the company through the end of the year. Patrick Lockwood-Taylor will take over the role of SBR and President of Bayer in the United States effective August 1, 2020 while maintaining many of the responsibilities of his current role as Regional President of Consumer Health North America and Member of the Consumer Health Executive Committee.
“Leading the phenomenal team at Bayer U.S. has truly been the highlight of my career,” Blake said. “To have been a part of this company over the last four decades has been an incredible experience, and I am honored to have been entrusted with the mission of leading the company’s presence in its largest market globally.”
Over the course of his career with Bayer, Blake has held leadership positions around the world focusing on global strategic product marketing, business development, clinical planning, product development and sales management. He obtained his degree at Bristol University and undertook further executive training at The Open University, INSEAD (Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires) and Wharton Business School. Blake is also a Chartered Corporate Director, earning this designation in 2006 from the Directors College at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University.
“In nearly eight years at the helm of Bayer’s operations in the U.S., Phil has steadfastly navigated our way to success in some of this company’s most transformative and dynamic times. We thank Phil for his leadership and his commitment to our company’s purpose, ‘Science for a better life,’” said Wolfgang Nickl, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Bayer AG and responsible for the North America region in the company’s Board of Management.
“I am deeply honored to have been appointed to this role and to build from the strong foundation Phil and the country leadership team have created,” Lockwood-Taylor said. “There is tremendous opportunity for growth for Bayer in America, as the leading life science company. I cannot speak highly enough of the exceptional leadership Phil has brought over the past eight years. He will be greatly missed.”
Lockwood-Taylor joined Bayer Consumer Health in August 2018 and is responsible for the division’s business in the U.S. and Canada. He is also is a member of the Consumer Health Executive Committee, the Bayer U.S. Country Leadership Team and Executive Sponsor of GROW, Bayer’s business resource group for advocating for women’s advancement. He has spent more than 25 years in global leadership roles, including positions in operations management, sales, marketing, country management, and general management, with assignments in the United Kingdom, Africa, Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States.
“In the brief period since he joined Bayer, Patrick has played a pivotal role in initiating the turnaround of the Consumer Health business in the United States. His vision, strategy and focus on execution has led to strong and sustained business growth,” Nickl said. “As a former CEO, he brings vast insights and experiences to the division and to the company. His exceptional management expertise, combined with his deep experience in transformation, will be of tremendous benefit to the broader Bayer organization in the United States.”
From 2016 to 2018, Lockwood-Taylor was President and CEO of The Oneida Group Inc. Prior to this, he spent more than 20 years with Procter & Gamble in various roles, including brand franchise and general management leadership positions. He served as Vice President of Personal Health Care North America and Global Digestive Wellness, where he drove significant strategic interventions to address a rapidly evolving market. His leadership resulted in significant growth in both sales and profit over a five-year period.
Outside of Bayer, Lockwood-Taylor is a Non-Executive Board Member of Bush Bros LLC and a Board and Executive Member of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA). He holds joint honors degrees in economics and management studies from Leeds University and a Professional Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2019, the Group employed around 104,000 people and had sales of 43.5 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.9 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
