Friday, September 4, 2026

Lonza Appoints Samanta Cimitan as Chief Commercial Officer

Lonza is adding a new senior commercial role to its leadership structure. Samanta Cimitan will join the company as Chief Commercial Officer, Senior Vice President and member of the Extended Executive Committee by 1 January 2027.

In the newly created position, Cimitan will oversee Strategic Enterprise Account Management, Global Marketing and Commercial Excellence. She will also hold direct commercial responsibility for Lonza’s strategic accounts.

New role supports One Lonza approach

The appointment is linked to Lonza’s One Lonza strategy, which is intended to make the company’s global capabilities easier for customers to access across its three Business Platforms. The role is designed to align customer engagement, commercial execution and go-to-market activities more closely.

Lonza CEO Wolfgang Wienand framed the appointment as part of the company’s effort to sharpen its commercial focus. He pointed to Cimitan’s CDMO background, commercial leadership experience and previous knowledge of Lonza.

Experience at Celonic and Lonza

Cimitan currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Celonic Group, a role she has held since 2023. She previously worked as Chief Business Officer at Celonic. During her tenure, the company has developed its position as a biologics-focused CDMO.

Before joining Celonic, Cimitan spent almost 13 years at Lonza in commercial and strategy-related leadership roles. Her previous positions included Vice President Group Operations, Strategic Programs and Transformation, as well as roles in the CEO Office, corporate strategy and commercial excellence.

The appointment signals a further step in Lonza’s commercial reorganization, with a stronger emphasis on strategic accounts and a unified market approach.