Patrik Jonsson, executive vice president and president of Lilly International
Eli Lilly and Company has announced that Patrik Jonsson, executive vice president and president of Lilly International, will retire at the end of 2026 after 36 years with the company.
From 1 January 2027, Lilly will combine its US and international businesses into a new organisation, Lilly Global Markets, led by Ilya Yuffa.
Jonsson joined Lilly in 1990 as a sales representative in Sweden. During his career, he held leadership positions across Sweden, Scandinavia, Italy and Japan. He served as president of Lilly Bio-Medicines, Lilly Immunology, Lilly USA and the company’s cardiometabolic health business before leading Lilly International.
“For more than three decades, Patrik has dedicated his career to improving lives by bringing our medicines to people around the world,” said David A. Ricks, chair and CEO of Lilly.
Ricks praised Jonsson’s contributions across drug development and customer operations as well as his expertise in global product launches and commitment to mentoring colleagues.
“Patrik is a patient-focused, engaging team leader who has mentored countless colleagues. On behalf of our Board, leadership team and thousands of employees he has worked alongside, I thank Patrik for his service to our company,” he added.
Lilly Combines US and International Businesses
By bringing its US and international businesses together as Lilly Global Markets, the company aims to “accelerate decision-making, increase scalability and provide a unified capability to improve human health through expanded access to medicines around the world.”
Ilya Yuffa will become executive vice president and president of Lilly Global Markets. Under the new structure, he will oversee six geographic hubs.
Yuffa, who currently serves as executive vice president and president of Lilly USA and Global Customer Capabilities, joined Lilly in 1996 as a financial analyst. His career at the company has included leadership roles in finance, business development, sales and general management. He previously served as president and general manager of Lilly’s Italy Hub, which covered more than 25 countries, as well as president of Lilly Bio-Medicines and president of Lilly International.
“To build on our momentum, now is the right time to consolidate our geographies for greater impact,” Ricks said.
He added that Yuffa’s experience leading both the company’s US and international businesses positioned him to lead its global customer-facing operations.
The executives who lead the company’s six geographic hubs and report to Yuffa are:
- Laura Steele will be promoted to president of Lilly USA from her current role as group vice president of US Cardiometabolic Health. During her 23 years at Lilly, Steele has held leadership roles in marketing, value and access, and commercial inside and outside the US, including Lilly’s US neuroscience business.
- Elias Khalil will be promoted to group vice president and president of Lilly Europe and Canada. Currently president and general manager of Lilly’s Italy Hub, Khalil has spent 18 years at the company and held leadership roles across the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia and the US neuroscience business.
- Nabil Daoud will continue as group vice president and president of Lilly InterContinental.
- Karla Alcazar will continue as president and general manager of Lilly Japan.
- Huzur Devletsah will continue as president and general manager of Lilly China.
- Winselow Tucker will continue as president and general manager of Lilly India.
Separately, Lilly’s board of directors has declared a fourth-quarter 2026 dividend of $1.73 per share on its outstanding common stock. The dividend will be payable on December 10, 2026, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 13, 2026.
