INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today announced key appointments due to the December 31 retirements of longtime senior leaders, Bryce D. Carmine and Frank Deane, Ph.D.

Carmine, whose Lilly career spans 36 years, has led Lilly Bio-Medicines since its creation in 2009. And Deane, whose career at Lilly spans 33 years, has led global manufacturing operations since 2007. Previously, both held numerous high-level leadership posts around the globe.

John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., chairman, president, and chief executive officer, described Carmine and Deane as "pillars of the company who have had a lasting, worldwide impact on our people and our business. We're grateful for their dedicated service."

Effective January 1:

• Dave Ricks, president of Lilly USA, is being promoted to succeed Carmine as senior vice president and president of Lilly Bio-Medicines. Ricks formerly was general manager of Lilly affiliates in China and Canada. Ricks' responsibilities will include the U.S., Japan, and Europe. Bio-Medicines encompasses the therapeutic areas of neuroscience, cardiovascular, autoimmunity, musculoskeletal, and urology.
• Maria Crowe, senior vice president for global drug product manufacturing, is being promoted to succeed Deane as president of manufacturing operations. She formerly was general manager of manufacturing sites in Ireland and Puerto Rico. As head of manufacturing operations, she will lead a network of 22 sites in 13 countries and also will have responsibility for Lilly's global contract-manufacturing organization.
• Alex Azar, following Ricks' promotion, is being promoted to president of Lilly USA, the company's largest affiliate. Azar has been vice president of U.S. managed healthcare services and Puerto Rico since 2009. Azar joined the company in 2007 as senior vice president of Lilly's global corporate affairs and communications division. Prior to joining Lilly, he served as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"We'll certainly miss Bryce and Frank and the extraordinary leadership they provided," Lechleiter said. "At the same time, we're very fortunate to have talented leaders who are well-prepared and ready to step into these critical roles."

Additional details about the individuals involved in today's announcements:

David Ricks, a 15-year Lilly veteran, has led three of Lilly's most important affiliates: the U.S., China, and Canada. As president of Lilly USA since 2009, Ricks spearheaded a new operating model focused on increasing customer satisfaction and sustaining revenue growth while preparing for patent losses and significant changes to the health care system in the United States.

Ricks joined Lilly in 1996 as a business development associate and held several management roles in U.S. marketing and sales before moving into key international roles for seven years – most recently as president and general manager of Lilly's affiliate in China, one of the world's fastest-growing pharmaceutical markets. He previously served as general manager of Lilly Canada after roles there as director of pharmaceutical marketing and national sales director.

Ricks earned a bachelor's degree in business from Purdue University and an MBA from Indiana University. Prior to joining Lilly, Ricks held positions with Hewlett-Packard Corp. and IBM.

Maria Crowe has served as senior vice president for global drug product manufacturing since August 2009. In this role, she has overseen all of Lilly's drug product manufacturing, packaging, and distribution operations. This includes sites that manufacture tablets and capsules as well as those that manufacture sterile injectable products.

In her 29-year Lilly career, Crowe has held numerous roles in drug product and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing, as well as in sourcing and procurement. Prior to her current role, Crowe was vice president for drug product manufacturing in the Americas (the United States and Latin America). Crowe also served as general manager at Lilly's Kinsale, Ireland, plant; general manager of Lilly del Caribe in Puerto Rico; and plant manager of Lilly's Elanco manufacturing plant at the former Tippecanoe manufacturing site.

Crowe holds a bachelor's degree in industrial management from Purdue University.

Alex Azar joined Lilly in 2007 as senior vice president of corporate affairs. In 2009, he became vice president of U.S. managed health care services and Puerto Rico. In that role, he has led the company's managed care, public payer, hospital, wholesaler, and retailer operations in the United States as well as Lilly's sales and marketing operations in Puerto Rico.

Before joining the company, Azar served as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), the largest civilian department in the federal government. Before entering government, he was a partner at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Wiley, Rein & Fielding. Azar earned a bachelor's degree in economics and government from Dartmouth College and is a graduate of Yale Law School.

Bryce D. Carmine has led Lilly Bio-Medicines since September 2009, when the company reorganized its pharmaceutical business into the operating model that exists today. Carmine's prior roles have included executive vice president of global marketing and sales, president of global product development, president of metabolic disorders and specialty products, and managing director in Japan. He joined Lilly in 1975 as a sales representative in New Zealand.

Frank Deane, Ph.D., became president of global manufacturing operations in June 2007. He had been vice president of quality since December 2001. His previous roles have included management in Ireland and Puerto Rico. He returned to the United States in 1993 as general manager of U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing and assumed responsibility for Lilly's worldwide API manufacturing operations in 1997. He joined Lilly in 1979 as a technical coordinator in manufacturing in Indianapolis.

About Lilly

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers – through medicines and information – for some of the world's most urgent medical needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com. C-LLY  

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SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company