Australian biotech firm CSL names insider Ken Lim as CFO; shares gain

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By Adwitiya Srivastava

(Reuters) -Australian biotech firm CSL said on Tuesday that Chief Strategy Officer Ken Lim would take over as finance chief next week as incumbent Joy Linton prepared to retire, sending its shares higher.

Shares of the company were up about 1.3% in early trading, hitting their highest level since September 19, while the benchmark stock index was trading largely flat.

Lim will take charge as chief financial officer on October 7 and Linton, who was named finance chief in 2020, will retire on the same day. Linton previously served as the finance head of global health insurance company Bupa.

Lim joined CSL in 2013 as vice president of strategic projects, where he focused on strategy, business development, and mergers & acquisitions, and took over the role of chief strategy officer in August 2023.

He has been involved in several key strategic partnerships and acquisitions, including the acquisition of the Novartis influenza business in 2015, according to the company’s website.

Last month, CSL said it would spin off its vaccine division and shed about 3,000 employees as it reels from “unprecedented volatility”. The demerger is expected to complete in early 2026.

Michael McCarthy, CEO of AUNZ at trading platform Moomoo, said the CFO change suggested the recent restructuring and job redundancies was a “clearing of the decks” as a final act by outgoing CFO.

“Lim’s previous decade as CSL’s strategy officer could see analysts looking for further company re-shaping news,” McCarthy said.

(Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava and Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Subhranshu Sahu)