Menarini names first female to lead ANZ business

Menarini has shattered a glass ceiling in Australia and New Zealand, appointing its first-ever female General Manager, Kelly Turner.

The move, effective 1 September 2025, signals a significant step forward for the organisation and places Turner at the helm of one of the fastest-growing affiliates in Asia-Pacific. She will report directly to Menarini Asia-Pacific CEO Glen Godresse. Turner takes over from current General Manager Jonathan Mullings, who will relocate to lead Menarini UK.

Turner joined the company in 2021 and has more than 17 years of experience within the Australian pharmaceutical sector. She began her career as a sales representative at Sanofi before transitioning into sales force effectiveness and commercial analyst roles, giving her expertise in analytics, insights and forecasting across sales and marketing.

During her time at Sanofi, Turner cemented her reputation as a transformation leader. She established the company’s commercial excellence function, building a team of analysts and insights professionals to elevate forecasting across business units. She subsequently led a marketing transformation team to develop a modern, multi-channel customer engagement model.

“I am honoured to be appointed as General Manager of Menarini ANZ and to have the privilege of leading such a passionate and highly capable team,” said Turner.

“Over the past four years, we have been dedicated to building and strengthening our local business capabilities to best meet the needs of patients – including our unique Integrated Healthcare model, which has strengthened our Field Force’s engagement with healthcare professionals, allowing them to deliver greater value across both primary and specialty care. I look forward to continuing to advance and evolve our expertise as these needs change.”

Transition planning between Turner and Mullings is already underway to ensure a seamless leadership shift across internal and external stakeholders.

“Kelly has been an integral part of the Menarini ANZ leadership team and has been responsible for leading many of our key commercial and business successes,” stated Mullings. “Kelly has also been instrumental in developing our local digital marketing capabilities. I am confident that her deep understanding of the business and her proven leadership skills will guide Menarini ANZ to even greater success, and I personally wish Kelly all the best in her new role over the coming years.”

Mullings joined Menarini as ANZ General Manager in March 2021 and successfully steered the business through the turbulent COVID-19 period. Under his leadership, the affiliate delivered double-digit growth, secured strategic partnerships, launched three products in three years and executed lifecycle management initiatives across both its prescription medicine and consumer health portfolios.

“Looking back on where we started four years ago makes me very proud as a leader,” said Mullings. “Looking forward, I only see tremendous opportunity – a great time to handover the baton to a very capable leader in Kelly to continue the journey. Menarini ANZ is one to watch!”

With more than three decades of experience spanning South Africa, the UK and ANZ, Mullings has held leadership roles across sales, marketing, business development, market access, health economics and healthcare solutions over multiple therapy areas – including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, HIV, hepatitis, oncology and immunology. He has also served in senior board-level positions for over ten years.

“I am grateful for my time at Menarini ANZ, and have enjoyed working with the ANZ team over the past four years,” said Mullings. “I’m now looking forward to relocating to England with my family to start my new role as General Manager UK – I know it will be another exciting and rewarding journey.”

Glen Godresse, CEO of Menarini Asia-Pacific, said “Congratulations to both Jonathan and Kelly on their well-deserved promotions. Their new appointments highlight our dedication to internal talent development and succession planning, including cross-border mobility.”

He further added, “I want to thank Jonathan for his transformational leadership over the past four years, that now positions ANZ as one of the fastest growing affiliates in Asia-Pacific. He has been the driving force behind our business ambition, and has successfully built a strong and resilient organisation that now includes critical new capabilities to support the company’s ongoing growth aspirations. I wish him all the best in his new role leading the UK affiliate.

“I know Kelly will continue to drive the growth and success of the ANZ business, while championing the excellent local talent we have within the organisation,” said Godresse. “I look forward to working closely with her as we move into this exciting new chapter of Menarini under her leadership.”

In reimagining healthcare across the entire patient journey, Health Industry Hub^TM is the only one-stop-hub uniting the diversity of the Pharma, MedTech, Diagnostics & Biotech sectors to inspire meaningful change.

The Health Industry Hub^TM content is copyright protected. Access is available under individual user licenses. Please click here to subscribe and visit T&Cs here.