Senior Scientist

This week's leadership moves: HSBC, Lundbeck, and Kimberly-Clark. Updated 11:54 PM PDT, April 2, 2026 Each week, CDO Magazine curates a high-level overview of executive appointments and leadership transitions shaping the global data, AI, and analytics ecosystem. This roundup offers a quick-read snapshot of how leadership talent is transitioning across organizations as they evolve data and AI strategies to support digital transformation, data management, enterprise innovation, security, and AI-driven decision-making. This briefing tracks leadership movements involving Chief Data Officers, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officers, Chief Data and Analytics Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Information Security Officers, and senior executives responsible for data, analytics, security, and digital strategy across industries. For the week of March 30, highlighted in this edition, we feature key leadership updates at HSBC, Lundbeck, and Kimberly-Clark, alongside several other notable appointments recently spotlighted on CDO Magazine. This week's featured moves: Global pharmaceutical company Lundbeck has promoted Markus Kede to Senior Vice President and Chief AI Officer. In this new role, Kede joins the Executive Leadership Team to drive a global AI strategy aimed at transforming Lundbeck into a "bionic company." Formerly the SVP of Finance & Business Planning for Lundbeck US, Kede will oversee responsible AI governance and the integration of machine learning across drug discovery and commercial operations. Kimberly-Clark has welcomed Francesco Tinto as Chief Information and Global Business Services (GBS) Officer. Reporting to the President and COO, Tinto will lead the digital and operational initiatives supporting the company's "Powering Care" strategy. Tinto brings over 30 years of expertise, including previous global CIO roles at Walgreens Boots Alliance and Kraft Heinz, where he specialized in technology integration and business process optimization. Discovery Education has appointed Kara Schlageter as its first-ever Chief Information Security Officer. Schlageter, who brings over 25 years of experience in cybersecurity and enterprise risk, is tasked with embedding "secure-by-design" principles into the company's digital learning solutions. Her leadership will focus on maintaining trust and privacy for educators and students as the organization accelerates its AI-driven innovations. HSBC Holdings plc has named David Rice as its first Chief AI Officer, effective April 1. In this newly created role, Rice will lead enterprise-wide AI adoption to support the bank's ambition of building a future-ready institution. Formerly the COO for HSBC's Corporate and Institutional Banking business, Rice is tasked with scaling generative AI tools and streamlining processes while ensuring human accountability and responsible use. Manulife has appointed Dr. Hongjuan Liu as Chief AI & Data Officer for Hong Kong and Macau. Dr. Liu, who joins from McDonald's China, will lead a cross-functional team to establish Hong Kong as a regional AI Centre of Excellence. With over 20 years of experience, he will oversee advanced analytics and AI deployment initiatives to deliver greater value for customers and distribution partners across both markets. The Department of War has announced the appointment of Gavin Kliger as Chief Data Officer. A key figure in the Department's AI roadmap, Kliger previously contributed to the Department of Government Efficiency team and the launch of the GenAI.mil platform. In his new capacity, he will bridge private-sector innovation with military operational expertise to accelerate the delivery of advanced data and AI capabilities to the warfighter.

Lundbeck advances Parkinson's pipeline with promising early data. Early-stage data. New mechanisms. And a continued push into complex brain disorders. H. Lundbeck A/S has announced encouraging Phase 1b results for its investigational Parkinson's drug Lu AF28996, with findings set to be presented at the AD/PD 2026 Conference in Copenhagen. What the Phase 1b trial Showed? The study focused on patients with advanced Parkinson's disease, a stage where treatment becomes increasingly complex. Key takeaways. * Well tolerated in patients * Showed early signs of biological activity * Supports continued clinical development This was a proof-of-mechanism trial, meaning the goal wasn't just safety - but also to confirm that the drug behaves as intended in the body. Why This drug matters? Parkinson's treatment still has major gaps. The core problem. Patients with advanced disease often experience: * Motor fluctuations * "OFF" time (periods of reduced mobility) * Drug-induced complications like dyskinesia Even existing therapies: * Lose effectiveness over time * Require complex delivery systems * Come with tolerability issues The approach: continuous dopamine stimulation. Lu AF28996 is designed differently. Mechanism. * Targets dopamine D1 and D2 receptors * Aims to deliver continuous dopaminergic stimulation * Oral administration (simpler than device-based therapies) Potential benefits. * Reduce "OFF" time * Improve motor control * Lower risk of treatment-induced complications In short: smoother symptom control with fewer trade-offs. What's next? Lundbeck is moving forward quickly. * Phase 2 trial planned for 2026 * Focus: patients with advanced Parkinson's disease Still early - but promising enough to justify the next step. Beyond Parkinson's: Focus on Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). Lundbeck didn't stop at Parkinson's. At AD/PD 2026, the company will also present research on Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a rare but aggressive condition. Why MSA matters? * Rapid disease progression * No approved treatments * High unmet need Key areas of Focus. * Disease progression modeling (using Bayesian methods) * Biomarker development for earlier diagnosis * Patient-centric trial design These insights are shaping Lundbeck's development program for amlenetug. Amlenetug: another high-stakes bet. Amlenetug is a different kind of therapy. * A monoclonal antibody * Targets alpha-synuclein, a key protein in neurodegeneration * Aims to: * Prevent spread of toxic protein aggregates * Slow disease progression It's being developed in partnership with Genmab A/S. The bigger picture. Lundbeck is doubling down on movement disorders and neurodegeneration. This update shows: * Depth in early-stage innovation * Focus on mechanism-driven therapies * Commitment to diseases with limited treatment options Final take. This isn't a breakthrough yet - but it's a solid step. * Lu AF28996 shows early promise in a difficult indication * MSA research highlights long-term strategic thinking * The pipeline reflects a high-risk, high-reward approach If these programs succeed, Lundbeck could: * Redefine treatment in advanced Parkinson's * Enter an underserved MSA market For now, the signal is clear: early - but worth watching. Optimize your trial insights with Clival Database. Are you exhausted from the uncertainty of trial insights pricing? Clival Database ensures the clarity in the midst of the global scenario for clinical trials to you. Clival Database is one of the best databases that offers an outstanding number of clinical trial data in terms of 50,000+ molecules and from primary regulatory markets as well as new entrants like Indian and Chinese markets. With Clival, you get accurate positioning of historical sales data, patent database, company profiling, safety & efficacy, and prediction of launch of new innovative molecules helping you to align your research and driving down the cost. To add value, Clival further break down its analytics for you so that improving your operational effectiveness; optimizing your clinical trials; and offering you accurate and high-quality data at lowest possible prices becomes possible. Elevate your trial success rate with the cutting-edge insights from Clival database.