Bavarian Nordic appoints new CEO
Bavarian Nordic has appointed Tarja Stenvall as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective 15 October. She succeeds Paul Chaplin, whose departure was announced earlier this year.
From 15 October, the executive management will consist of Stenvall, CFO Henrik Juuel, Chief Commercial Officer Jean-Christophe May and Chief Operating Officer Russell Thirsk.
Chair Anne Louise Eberhard said the Board made the appointment “following a comprehensive search”.
Tarja Stenvall
Tanja Stenvall has more than 20 years of experience at Sanofi, AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Most recently she was Senior Vice President and Head of Global Franchise for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at Sanofi, overseeing a EUR 10 billion franchise. Earlier Sanofi roles included Senior Vice President for Europe and Vice President for Vaccines in Latin America. She holds an economics degree from Aalto University in Finland and an MBA from the University of South Carolina.
“What attracted me to Bavarian Nordic is its unique combination of a strong scientific foundation, a proven global manufacturing and supply chain and commercial platform,” says Stenvall.
Published: September 21, 2026
