Smith & Nephew (FTSE:SN, NYSE:SNN) CEO Olivier Bohuon reportedly said he has no plans to leave the U.K. medical device maker for the top job at French drug-maker Sanofi (NYSE:SNY), despite persistent reports that he’s the #1 candidate.
Citing "people familiar with the matter," Bloomberg reported that Bohuon told employees that he’s "very happy" at Smith & Nephew. The CEO spoke at a "town hall" meeting Nov. 25 in Baar, Switzerland, according to 1 of the sources, "who asked not to be identified discussing private company events," according to Bloomberg.
Bohuon has been mentioned as a strong candidate for the CEO role at Sanofi since early November, when the Paris-based company sacked Chris Viehbacher after 6 years in the corner office. Le Figaro reported Nov. 24 that a deal between Bohuon and Sanofi chairman Serge Weinberg is in the offing.
Bohuon, 55, who previously ran the pharmaceuticals business at U.S. drugmaker Abbott (NYSE:ABT) and GlaxoSmithKline‘s (NYSE:GSK) operations in Europe, has steered the British company into faster-growing areas, such as sports medicine and emerging markets since he took over in 2011.
There is also speculation that 1 of Smith & Nephew’s American orthopedics rivals, Stryker (NYSE:SYK), is mulling a takeover bid.
Smith & Nephew, Sanofi and the headhunting firm it hired to guide its CEO search all declined to comment, Bloomberg reported.
Sanofi is also looking at Takeda Pharmaceutical (TYO:4502) COO Christophe Weber; Eric Cornut, chief ethics officer at Novartis (NYSE:NVS); and Bayer Healthcare (PINK:BAYRY) head Olivier Brandicourt, according to the news service. AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) CEO Pascal Soriot rebuffed an approach from Sanofi, Bloomberg reported.