Thursday, September 17, 2026

Tarja Stenvall named CEO of Bavarian Nordic

Bavarian Nordic A/S has appointed Tarja Stenvall as President and Chief Executive Officer. She is scheduled to take up the role on October 15, 2026, succeeding Paul Chaplin, whose planned departure had been announced earlier.

The Danish vaccine company is bringing in an executive with more than two decades of leadership experience in the global pharmaceutical sector. Stenvall has worked for Sanofi, AstraZeneca and Pfizer, holding country, regional and global responsibilities.

Background in vaccines and commercial leadership

According to the company, Stenvall has commercial expertise across specialty care, general medicines and vaccines. She has led organizations of more than 3,000 people and managed profit and loss responsibilities exceeding 3 billion euros.

Most recently, she served at Sanofi as Senior Vice President and Head of Global Franchise for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. In that position, she oversaw global portfolio strategy and long-term planning for a franchise valued at 10 billion euros.

Her previous Sanofi roles included senior positions in general medicines, Europe and vaccines in Latin America. In Latin America, she was involved in securing Sanofi’s largest global private-public partnership. Before joining Sanofi in 2014, Stenvall held commercial leadership roles at AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

Executive management from October

The Board said the appointment followed a comprehensive search. Chair Anne Louise Eberhard pointed to Stenvall’s experience in scaling and leading global life science businesses, as well as her background in pharma and vaccines. The Board also acknowledged Paul Chaplin’s role in the company’s development from a research-focused organization into a global vaccine company.

Stenvall cited Bavarian Nordic’s scientific base, global manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, and commercial platform as key reasons for joining the company. The company said she sees a strong basis for its next phase of growth.

From October 15, 2026, Bavarian Nordic’s Executive Management will consist of Tarja Stenvall as President and Chief Executive Officer, Henrik Juuel as EVP and Chief Financial Officer, Jean-Christophe May as EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, and Russell Thirsk as EVP and Chief Operating Officer.

Vaccine portfolio and public health preparedness

Bavarian Nordic is a global vaccine company. It supplies governments with mpox and smallpox vaccines and also has a portfolio of travel vaccines. The announcement was published on September 17, 2026 and was classified as inside information under Article 17 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.