Goldman mergers expert to join Glaxo as its finance chief
PHARMACEUTICALS giant GlaxoSmithKline scored a coup yesterday as it hired one of Goldman Sachs’ most successful rainmakers as its new chief financial officer.
Simon Dingemans is currently head of Goldman’s European mergers and acquisitions business and has been prolific in advising some of the world’s largest companies in his 25 years in the investment banking industry.
Last year, he acted for Friends Provident on its £1.86bn takeover by Resolution and in 2000, he advised Vodafone on its £110bn buyout of Germany’s MannesMann – a deal which remains, a decade later, the world’s largest-ever hostile takeover.
Dingemans has also worked closely with Glaxo itself for many years, most recently advising on the formation of specialist HIV company offshoot ViiV Healthcare.
His experience in the M&A arena will prove invaluable for Glaxo, which is keen to hunt for further targets to bolster its business via acquisitions.
The appointment “reflects the need for Glaxo to operate with both creativity and continued financial discipline”, the firm’s chief executive Andrew Witty said. “[Dingemans] will bring valuable experience and capability to support us in our strategy to grow and diversify the business.”
He joins following incumbent finance director Julian Heslop’s decision to retire at the end of March next year.
Dingemans is acting as a judge for City A.M.’s inaugural awards ceremony on Thursday 28 October.