Novartis appoints Karen Hale as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer

Klaus Moosmayer, currently Chief Ethics, Risk & Compliance Officer of Novartis, has decided to leave the company and will step down from the ECN to pursue his next chapter of leadership outside Novartis. The current Ethics Risk & Compliance (ERC) function will move under the leadership of Karen Hale.

“Klaus has been integral to building trust with society by solving our legacy compliance topics and putting an ethics, risk and compliance system in place, which is regarded highly internally and externally. The impact he has had on our company, our people and our reputation will be long-lasting,” said Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis. “I want to thank Klaus for his extraordinary leadership since he joined the company and ECN and wish him the very best as he pursues his next chapter. I have confidence that Karen will continue the strong commitment and rigor we have around ethics, risk management and compliance at Novartis.”

Karen joined Novartis as Chief Legal Officer in May 2021, bringing almost 30 years of experience in resolving legal and compliance issues in the global pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Novartis, she held a succession of senior roles at AbbVie including vice president, deputy general counsel and chief ethics and compliance officer.

“I am looking forward to leveraging the strengths of Legal and ERC to best align on risk management across the enterprise and to leading our efforts in ensuring our commitment to ethics, risk management, compliance and integrity remain unwavering,” said Karen Hale.

Reflecting on his journey in ERC, Klaus Moosmayer shared, “after joining Novartis in 2018, I leave the company with a strong sense of pride on what we have accomplished together in strengthening our reputation and building a holistic integrated assurance system for Novartis.”