GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Britain's biggest drug maker, appointed Herve Gisserot as its new head of business in China in a bid to ensure normal operation during an ongoing bribery scandal, the Nandu Daily reported Saturday.
According to the report, Gisserot, former vice president for the European market, will take over the position of vice president and general manager from Mark Reilly on September 1.
Gisserot will organize a new senior management team for GSK's pharmaceutical business in China since four Chinese senior executives - in charge of operation, law, human resources and business operation - have been detained.
Andrew Witty, GSK's global CEO, announced that the executives involved in the Chinese government's bribery investigation are all Chinese nationals and the company's headquarters in London had no inkling of the wrongdoing before the scandal was exposed.
According to the Nandu Daily report, 18 of GSK's Zhengzhou sales staff told the police that GSK allowed sales staff to use some of their sales receipts to bribe doctors.
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