Yuffa will take on an expanded role as the company scales for its next phase of growth 

Key highlights:

• Patrik Jonsson, executive vice president and president, Lilly International, has decided to retire at the end of 2026 after a 36-year career at Lilly.
• On Jan. 1, 2027, Ilya Yuffa will take on an expanded role as executive vice president and president, Lilly Global Markets, overseeing customer strategy and execution worldwide.
• Laura Steele will be promoted to president, Lilly USA, and Elias Khalil will be promoted to group vice president and president, Lilly Europe and Canada.

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today announced that Patrik Jonsson, executive vice president and president, Lilly International, has decided to retire at the end of 2026 after a 36-year career at Lilly.

Jonsson joined the company in 1990 as a sales representative in Sweden. He went on to lead Lilly in Sweden, Scandinavia, Italy and Japan, then served as president of Lilly Bio-Medicines and Lilly Immunology, as well as president of Lilly USA and Lilly’s cardiometabolic health business, before leading Lilly International.

“For more than three decades, Patrik has dedicated his career to improving lives by bringing our medicines to people around the world,” said David A. Ricks, Lilly chair and CEO. “He has held multiple executive roles in the company spanning drug development and customer operations, including head of immunology, cardiometabolic health and Lilly USA. Today he applies his deep expertise in global launches across Lilly International. Patrik is a patient-focused, engaging team leader who has mentored countless colleagues. On behalf of our Board, leadership team and thousands of employees he has worked alongside, I thank Patrik for his service to our company.”

Effective Jan. 1, 2027, Lilly’s U.S. and international businesses will come together as Lilly Global Markets, led by Ilya Yuffa, who will become executive vice president and president, Lilly Global Markets.

Bringing these organizations together will accelerate decision-making, increase scalability and provide a unified capability to improve human health through expanded access to medicines around the world.

Yuffa joined Lilly in 1996 as a financial analyst and has held leadership roles in finance, business development, sales and general management, including president and general manager of Lilly’s Italy Hub, which covered more than 25 countries, president of Lilly Bio-Medicines, president of Lilly International and currently executive vice president and president, Lilly USA and Global Customer Capabilities.

Ricks continued, “To build on our momentum, now is the right time to consolidate our geographies for greater impact. Ilya has run both our international and U.S. businesses, and his range of experience and commitment to excellence make him uniquely qualified to lead our customer-facing operations worldwide. He is joined by a proven team with the expertise and focus to help us reach even more people with our medicines.”

The following executives will lead the company’s six geographic hubs and report to Yuffa:

• Laura Steele, currently group vice president, U.S. Cardiometabolic Health, will be promoted to president, Lilly USA. In 23 years at Lilly, Steele has held leadership roles in marketing, value and access, and commercial operations inside and outside the U.S., including Lilly’s U.S. neuroscience business.
• Elias Khalil, currently president and general manager of Lilly’s Italy Hub, will be promoted to group vice president and president, Lilly Europe and Canada. In 18 years at Lilly, Khalil has held leadership roles across the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. neuroscience business.
• Nabil Daoud will continue in his role as group vice president and president, Lilly InterContinental.
• Karla Alcazar, Huzur Devletsah and Winselow Tucker will continue in their roles as president and general manager of Lilly Japan, Lilly China and Lilly India, respectively.

About Lilly
Lilly is a medicine company turning science into healing to make life better for people around the world. We’ve been pioneering life-changing discoveries for 150 years, and today our medicines help tens of millions of people across the globe. Harnessing the power of biotechnology, chemistry and genetic medicine, our scientists are urgently advancing new discoveries to solve some of the world’s most significant health challenges: redefining diabetes care; treating obesity and curtailing its most devastating long-term effects; advancing the fight against Alzheimer’s disease; providing solutions to some of the most debilitating immune system disorders; and transforming the most difficult-to-treat cancers into manageable diseases. With each step toward a healthier world, we’re motivated by one thing: making life better for millions more people. That includes delivering innovative clinical trials that reflect the diversity of our world and working to ensure our medicines are accessible and affordable. To learn more, visit Lilly.com and Lilly.com/news, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. C-LLY

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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements (as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) about Lilly’s leadership changes and the creation of Lilly global initiatives and reflects Lilly’s current beliefs and expectations. However, there can be no assurance that these actions will achieve Lilly’s objectives or that Lilly will execute its strategy as planned. For further discussion of risks and uncertainties relevant to Lilly’s business that could cause actual results to differ from Lilly’s expectations, see Lilly’s Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Lilly undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release.

 

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SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company