HUGEL said on the 13th that it has hired medical and aesthetics expert Carrie Strom as global chief executive officer (CEO). Following the recent appointment of Jang Do-hyun as Korea CEO, the company added a global CEO and plans to kick-start growth centered on the Americas.
From May 2020 to February this year, Global CEO Strom served for five years as senior vice president at global drugmaker AbbVie and as global president of Allergan Aesthetics. After first joining Allergan (now AbbVie) in 2011, Strom led businesses in more than 50 countries, including botulinum toxin "Botox" and hyaluronic acid (HA) filler "Juvéderm." Previously, Strom served as senior vice president for the United States medical and aesthetics division at Allergan and spent 11 years at Pfizer as a sales and marketing expert.
Carrie Strom said, "I will make it the top priority to build on leadership in Korea to leap forward as a company leading the global aesthetics market and to raise the standards of services provided to customers and patients worldwide."
HUGEL is currently present with toxin products in 69 countries and fillers in 53 countries, rapidly expanding its influence in the global market. In particular, after obtaining product approvals in February last year from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for 50-unit and 100-unit doses of the botulinum toxin "Letybo," the company began preparations this year to enter the United States, which accounts for more than 50% of the global toxin market. The company expects that hiring Carrie Strom will kick-start HUGEL's U.S. business performance.
Cha Suk-yong, chair of HUGEL's board, said, "Carrie Strom is an expert who has driven change while building broad experience in the global medical aesthetics industry, and is expected to maximize the future value of HUGEL as it undergoes a major transition into a global corporations, including in the Americas."