Ipsen Welcomes Pharmaceutical Executive Peter Guenter to Board of Directors
PARIS, FRANCE – In a significant corporate governance development, Ipsen, the global biopharmaceutical company, has announced the co-optation of Peter Guenter to its Board of Directors. This appointment became effective on January 28, 2026, following the vacancy created by the departure of Mr. Henri Beaufour from his position.
Extensive Pharmaceutical Leadership Experience
Peter Guenter brings to Ipsen's board nearly four decades of executive leadership within the global pharmaceutical industry. His distinguished career includes serving as Chief Executive Officer of Merck Healthcare and as a member of the Executive Board of Merck Group from 2021 to 2025. Prior to this role, Guenter demonstrated his strategic leadership capabilities as CEO at Almirall, where he spearheaded the company's strategic refocus on medical dermatology beginning in 2017.
Guenter's pharmaceutical expertise was cultivated during more than twenty years at Sanofi, where he held numerous leadership positions and ultimately joined the company's Executive Committee in 2013. Throughout his career, he has established a proven track record of success in forming strategic partnerships and demonstrating excellence in execution.
Board Composition and Governance Structure
With this new appointment, Ipsen's Board of Directors maintains its composition of fourteen directors, comprising seven women and seven men. This balanced representation includes five independent directors and two directors representing employees. The company has indicated that at the next Shareholders' meeting, there will be a formal request for ratification of this decision, which would remain in effect for the remainder of Henri Beaufour's term of office until the 2027 Shareholders' meeting.
Beyond his executive leadership roles, Peter Guenter has been an active contributor to various boards across the healthcare and private equity sectors, bringing valuable governance experience to Ipsen's leadership team.
About Ipsen's Global Operations
Ipsen operates as a global biopharmaceutical company with a strategic focus on developing transformative medicines for patients across three therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Disease, and Neuroscience. The company's research and development pipeline benefits from both internal innovation and external collaborations, supported by nearly a century of pharmaceutical development experience.
The company maintains global hubs in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, with teams operating in more than forty countries worldwide. Through its extensive network of partnerships, Ipsen delivers medicines to patients in over one hundred countries. The company is publicly listed on the Euronext Paris exchange under the symbol IPN and maintains a Sponsored Level I American Depositary Receipt program in the United States under the symbol IPSEY.
This board appointment represents a strategic addition to Ipsen's leadership as the company continues to advance its mission of bringing innovative treatments to patients facing serious medical conditions across the globe.
