Virbac Corp., the maker of animal health products such as Sentinel heartworm preventives for dogs, has appointed François Fournier, Pharm.D., MA, as president and CEO of the North America division.
Fournier replaces Paul Hays, who spent nearly five years in the position and is now a consultant based in Fort Worth, Texas, the home of Virbac North America.
Virbac reported that Fournier’s “priority will be to develop and grow our business activities in North America while ensuring a rapid recovery and improvement of our profitability.”
“The North American market is a market of great importance for Virbac,” said Hubert Trentesaux, area director for Europe and North America. “We have carried out significant investments in this market, and we are expecting good economic growth for our activities.”
Fournier spent much of his career in human medicine, most recently in senior positions with Smith & Nephew, first as president of the Advanced Wound Management Division in North America and later in Singapore as senior vice president and managing director of the Asia-Pacific region.
Earlier, he served as president of Galderma Laboratories’ North America operations, headquartered in Fort Worth.