Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) has announced the appointment of Manmeet Soni as the new CFO of the company. This marks the second C-level officer change at the company, in less than a year. Soni would be replacing Edward Fitzgerald, who had held the position since 2002. The decision would be effective as of March 21.
Soni had been the CFO of Pharmacyclics, prior to the company’s acquisition by AbbVie. Ariad is yet to update on the compensations being offered to Mr. Soni, for his services. However, his predecessor is known to have received a total of $1.4 million, as compensation in the form of base pay, stock awards and bonuses, in 2014. Maria Cantor, the spokesperson for Ariad, revealed that the outgoing CFO would be in close contact with Mr. Soni, so as to ensure a smooth transition. She further revealed that the outgoing CFO had in fact resigned and the company does not have any information on his future plans.
Ariad had initially appointed Paris Panayiotopoulos as the new CEO of the company, replacing Harvey Berger, on January 1. The move had marked the first C-level officer change by the company this year. Paris is also the second CEO of Ariad, since its inception. The outgoing CEO had resigned from his position, after pressure from activist shareholders. Berger had held the post since 1990.
Paris had expressed delight at the appointment of Soni as the new CFO, stating that he has proven experience in finance management will help Ariad strengthen its positions as an orphan oncology company. The new CEO also thanked the outgoing CFO for his services and helping the company transform from an R&D company, to an orphan oncology company. During the most recent earnings calls, Ariad CEO had focused on building shareholder value and exercise cost cuts.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) completed the March 11 trading session with a gain of 5.28% during the session and having a trade volume of 3.15 million, to close at $6.58.
