- Former President and COO of EVERSANA will start as Ergomed CEO on 3rd July 2024
- Sy brings 30 years’ experience in senior leadership roles across CRO platforms and the life sciences industry with strong domain expertise in clinical CRO and pharmacovigilance
- Dr. Miroslav Reljanović, Founder of Ergomed will continue to serve as Chairman of the company
Guildford, United Kingdom – 8 July 2024 – ERGOMED Group Limited (“Ergomed”), a global provider of specialized services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, announces today that Dr. Sy Pretorius has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective from 3rd July 2024. Dr. Miroslav Reljanović, Ergomed Founder, will continue to serve as active Chairman of the Board and will remain closely involved in the strategic direction of Ergomed.
Dr. Sy Pretorius is a renowned expert in the clinical development and pharmacovigilance industry, with nearly 30 years of experience in senior leadership roles in the life sciences industry and at CRO platforms. He has been instrumental in driving change throughout all phases of clinical operations and advancing innovative technologies and practices that have transformed the field. Prior to joining Ergomed, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of EVERSANA, where he was responsible for driving operational excellence across the company’s growing outsourced service solutions and critical infrastructure operations teams. Before that, he served as President, Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer at Parexel, where he oversaw the company’s global clinical development offering.
As a fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, UK, and with a degree from the University of Southern California, as well as a medical degree from the University of Free State, Dr. Pretorius brings a strong educational background to his leadership roles. He has also been recognized with numerous awards and honours for his contributions to the field, further highlighting his commitment to excellence and innovation.
In November 2023, Ergomed entered into a partnership with funds advised by Permira to support Ergomed’s next phase of growth. Since then, Ergomed has seen a significant increase in orderbook, accelerated revenue growth, and invested in its digital strategy.
Dr. Sy Pretorius, incoming CEO of Ergomed, said: “I am excited to join Ergomed during this period of rapid growth and strategic momentum. Under the leadership of Miro and the management team, Ergomed has built an impressive and differentiated specialized CRO and pharmacovigilance platform to help clients develop and commercialize complex and often life-saving rare disease and oncology therapies for patients. The company is well positioned to accelerate its market leadership position and to drive consolidation in the industry with the backing of Permira. I’d like to thank Miro, the management team and Permira for their trust and I look forward to working closely with them to capture the opportunity that lies ahead and in turn, help to deliver better outcomes for patients.”
Dr. Miroslav Reljanović, Chairman of Ergomed, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Sy to Ergomed. He brings nearly 30 years of senior leadership experience in the global life science industry and has a proven track record of successfully leading international CRO businesses. He has a deep, medically-informed, understanding of drug development and patient safety and his expertise and visionary leadership will undoubtedly continue to drive the company towards becoming the leader in specialized pharmaceutical services. I look forward to working closely with Sy, Permira and the rest of the team as we build the future of Ergomed together.”
Florian Kreuzer, Principal and Head of Permira DACH, commented: “Sy’s appointment is an exciting milestone for Ergomed as the company looks to accelerate its growth in this next phase. Sy is an outstanding leader with extensive industry and technical expertise which will be invaluable as we look to drive commercial expansion, digitalization and M&A at Ergomed. We look forward to the partnership with Sy, Miro as Chairman and the entire Ergomed management team in building a leading specialist pharma services platform.”
