Almac Group announces new chief operating officer

Craigavon’s Almac Group, the global contract pharmaceutical development and manufacturing organisa­tion, has announced the appointment of Graeme McBurney to the Board of Directors in the role of chief operating officer.

Graeme has over 30 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He joined the Almac Group in 1990 and has held a number of operational and management positions, most recently as managing director and president of Almac Pharma Services since 2003.

In his role, Graeme will be responsible for implementing operations aligned with long term business goals and the Group’s strategies. He will oversee operations of the group and work with Almac executives to secure the functionality of the business to drive continued growth.

Almac has also announced that John McQuaid will succeed Graeme as managing director and president of Almac Pharma Services, which provides a range of pharmaceutical development, manufacture and commercial services. John will be responsible for overall strategic, operational and financial leadership of the Almac Pharma Services business.

John has been with Almac since 1994 and has held a number of management roles. He was appointed vice president of technical operations in 2011 where he was responsible for overseeing the strategic growth and development of the Pharmaceutical Development service offering within Almac Pharma Services.

Alan Armstrong, CEO Almac Group, said: “We are delighted to welcome Graeme to the Board at this exciting time as we progress our global growth strategy. His wealth of experience and expertise will be instrumental in supporting our vision and congratulations to John on his new role as he leads Almac Pharma Services.”

Graeme explained: “I am honoured to join the Almac Group Board of Directors and look forward to the next phase of Almac’s evolution as we remain focused on our client relationships and the continued strategic growth of the Group. I also congratulate John on his promotion.”

This announcement comes just after the Group announced a £200m global expansion having recorded a £58m (8.6%) rise in turnover from £677m in 2020 to £735m in 2021 and a 5.8% increase in the Group’s average employee figures from 5,466 to 5,783 from October 2020 to September 2021.