Chief Financial Officer

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are committed to turning innovative science into medical solutions that bring value and hope to patients and their families. Keeping our focus on addressing unmet medical needs and conducting our business with ethics and integrity enables us to improve the health of people throughout the world. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at www.astellas.com.

Our patients are waiting.  At Astellas, "stable" is not a word.

We spend a lot of time and resources developing new innovative medicines that have a low probability of success, even if they do come to fruition, the patent will expire in the future, and we will have to create another innovative drug.  This may seem like a too high-risk business model.

Why do we continue to take on such challenges taking a risk?   The answer lies in the first sentence.   “Our patients are waiting”.

Astellas is a Japan based global pharma company with the total sales revenue of JPY1,296B (FY21) and market cap of JPY3,470B (2023/3/28). We are operating business 70 countries.

Astellas’ vision is to be on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients.  We are embarking upon an organization wide transformation to shift from a traditional pharma company into a cutting-edge, VALUE-driven life science innovator. 

This shift requires top management to lead as a cohesive highly integrated team.  For all members of Top Management, advanced capabilities in Transformational Leadership, Results Orientation and Global Mindset are critical. With Astellas focused on organic and M&A strategies for growth, the CFO role in particular will require advanced financial and business acumen to achieve both paths. 

Astellas is focused heavily on achieving ambitious performance goals as part its Corporate Strategic Plan, which is market cap of JPY7T with increasing revenue, pipeline value, improving core OP>=30%, and growing its Rx business. To realize that, the CFO plays a critical role in establishing strong financial discipline across organization which includes the mechanism of strong cost control as well as of guiding strategic investment decision looking at longer term business success and sustainable growth.

Other critical skill sets for the CFO will be: Investor relations and External Stakeholder management, Data analytics, and Transformational Operational Efficiency. 

This position is based in Northbrook, Illinois. Remote work from certain states may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines. Candidates interested in remote work are encouraged to apply.

Purpose and Scope:

As a valued partner to the CEO and member of the Executive Committee, The Chief Financial Officer demonstrates strong financial and commercial acumen, deep understanding of the life science industry and stakeholders' expectations including the investor community. The CFO shows a strong willingness to provide constructive thought leadership in developing and executing the vision and strategy of Astellas. 

The CFO is accountable for improving and safeguarding financial results, providing robust financial planning and analysis and guiding company strategy and its execution. The role is expected to enhance the company’s financial discipline, leverage robust financial analysis and use it to influence and contribute to the company’s best strategic investment decisions.

This role is accountable for the divisions of Corporate Finance & Control, Treasury & Tax, Global Business Service, Procurement, Corporate Advocacy & Relations and CFO Office, setting a clear strategic direction and driving performance, culture and engagement.

Essential Job Responsibilities:

• Financial Strategy: Leading the development and implementation of corporate financial strategy ensuring appropriate integration across local operations and key functions and creating alignment with regulatory requirements and external stakeholder needs. Integrating strategic plans into an aligned strategy across Astellas.
• Financial Planning and Analysis: Developing and executing the company's financial strategy and forecasting financial results, budgeting, and monitoring financial performance.
• Accounting and Reporting: Ensuring the company's financial records are accurate, timely, and compliant with applicable laws and regulations.
• Cash Management: Managing the company's cash flow and ensuring that it has sufficient funds to meet its financial obligations and pursue growth opportunities.
• Risk Management: Identifying and mitigating financial risks that could negatively impact the company's performance, such as interest rate or currency fluctuations.
• Capital Management: Raising and allocating capital to support the company's growth and strategic initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions. Managing shareholder return such as dividend policy and share buy-back.
• External Relations: Representing the organization in external relations with investors, the public and others as it relates to the financial-related affairs of Astellas.
• Financial Compliance: Taking overall responsibility for designing, developing and delivering the financial compliance strategy to ensure the organization is adhered to regulatory standards globally.
• Finance Digital Transformation: Planning and executing digital transformation for finance function providing financial insights for the business using real-time data and self-service visualization tools to streamline enterprise budget management as well as increase effectiveness and efficiency of finance functions.
• Leadership and Team Management: Leading and managing the Finance, Procurement and Corporate Advocacy & Relations team, providing guidance and support to ensure they perform effectively and efficiently.

Quantitative Dimensions:

• Company Revenue (FY21): JPY1,296.2B
• Company Core Operating Profit (FY21): JPY 244.7B
• R&D Expenses (FY21): JPY246.0B
• Number of employees for overall Astellas: About 15,000
• Geographical Scope: Global

For details: Please refer to an Integrated Report 2022

https://www.astellas.com/en/system/files/astellas_ir2022_en_20221031.pdf

Key Stakeholders

Internal

• CEO & Executive Committee members, Division Heads, Corporate Strategy, Human Resources etc.

External

• Investors, lenders, governmental, professional and regulatory bodies
• External experts, consultants and third-party vendors

Organizational Context:

Supervisory / Management Responsibilities:

• Approximately 6 direct reports
• Approximately 700 indirect reports

The position reports into the Chief Executive Officer.

We would prefer this role to be based in Japan, the US or the UK, however we are open to location but will need regular travel to Japan