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Sebastian Szymanek

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Sebastian Szymanek
Born1970 (age 55–56)
EducationUniversity of Wrocław
OccupationBusiness executive
EmployerPolpharma
TitleChief executive officer of the Polpharma Group
Term1 January 2026 – present
PredecessorMarkus Sieger

Sebastian Szymanek (born 1970)[1] is a Polish business executive. Since 1 January 2026 he has been chief executive officer of the Polpharma Group, a pharmaceutical company operating in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

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Szymanek studied pharmacy at the University of Wrocław.[5][6] He subsequently completed postgraduate business programmes at the School of Management and Finance in Wrocław, Oxford Business School and London Business School, and holds an MBA.[5][6]

Career

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Szymanek has worked in the pharmaceutical industry since the late 1990s, holding commercial roles at manufacturers of generic drugs, including AstaMedica and Lekam, and at originator companies including Fournier and AstraZeneca.[5][6] In 2012 he received a Polish National Sales Award in the sales manager of the year category.[7][8]

He joined Polpharma in 2007 and held a succession of commercial positions.[2] In 2014 he became general manager of the company's Polish business, and from 2017 to March 2021 he served as president of the management board of Polpharma Biuro Handlowe.[5][2][9] On 1 April 2021 he was appointed vice-president of the management board of Zakłady Farmaceutyczne Polpharma S.A., becoming president of the board of that company on 1 September 2021.[5][6]

In October 2025 Polpharma announced that Szymanek would take over as chief executive officer of the Polpharma Group from 1 January 2026. He succeeded Markus Sieger, who moved to the group's supervisory board after ten years as chief executive under a planned succession.[2][3][10][11][9][4][12]

In May 2026 Szymanek took part in the opening of the Polish RNA Technology Platform at Polpharma's plant in Starogard Gdański, reported as the first facility in Poland for the development and manufacture of RNA-based medicines. The investment was valued at approximately 239 million złoty, of which 86.7 million złoty came from public funding provided by the Medical Research Agency and the National Centre for Research and Development.[13]

Public commentary

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Szymanek has been a frequent commentator in Polish debate on pharmaceutical policy and security of drug supply. He spoke at successive editions of the Health Market Forum (Forum Rynku Zdrowia) in Warsaw, including the opening session of its 18th edition in 2022 and the "health Hyde Park" segment of its 19th edition in 2023,[14][15] and has appeared on panels at the European Economic Congress in Katowice in 2024, 2025 and 2026, the last of these including sessions on the future of the health system and on Europe's economic strength.[16][17][18][19]

He has argued that European and Polish drug manufacturing is dependent on active pharmaceutical ingredients sourced from Asia, and has called for policy support for pharmaceutical production in Poland and the European Union.[20][21][22] He has also described domestic generic drug manufacturing as a significant part of the Polish economy that contributes to both supply security and innovation,[14][20] and has presented the adoption of RNA-based therapies in Poland as a component of the sector's technological competitiveness.[13] In February 2024, during a visit to the Starogard Gdański plant by the Polish public television programme Miodowa 15, he publicly urged the then deputy health minister Maciej Miłkowski to adopt systemic measures on domestic drug supply security.[23]

References

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  1. ↑ "Sebastian Szymanek". rejestr.io (in Polish). Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Polpharma zmienia prezesa. Stery przejmuje Sebastian Szymanek" [Polpharma changes its CEO. Sebastian Szymanek takes the helm]. Bankier.pl (in Polish). 24 October 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 LJ (24 October 2025). "Sebastian Szymanek nowym CEO Grupy Polpharma" [Sebastian Szymanek is the new CEO of the Polpharma Group]. Rynek Zdrowia (in Polish). Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 Druś, Marek (24 October 2025). "Sebastian Szymanek od przyszłego roku będzie prezesem Grupy Polpharma" [Sebastian Szymanek will be president of the Polpharma Group from next year]. Puls Biznesu (in Polish). Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sebastian Szymanek – prezes zarządu w Polpharma" [Sebastian Szymanek – president of the management board at Polpharma]. WNP.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Sebastian Szymanek – biogram prelegenta" [Sebastian Szymanek – speaker biography]. Forum Rynku Zdrowia 2022 (in Polish). Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  7. ↑ "IV edycja Polish National Sales Awards" [Fourth edition of the Polish National Sales Awards] (in Polish). Polish National Sales Awards. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  8. ↑ "Laureaci PNSA" [PNSA laureates] (in Polish). Polskie Stowarzyszenie Marketingu SMB. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Zmiana na stanowisku prezesa Grupy Polpharma – stery przejmuje Sebastian Szymanek" [A change of president at the Polpharma Group – Sebastian Szymanek takes the helm]. Executive Magazine (in Polish). 31 October 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  10. ↑ Mirska, Dorota (24 October 2025). "Sebastian Szymanek nowym prezesem Polpharmy" [Sebastian Szymanek is the new president of Polpharma]. Menedżer Zdrowia (in Polish). Termedia. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  11. ↑ Skomra, Sławomir (24 October 2025). "Sebastian Szymanek nowym prezesem Grupy Polpharma" [Sebastian Szymanek is the new president of the Polpharma Group]. Polityka Zdrowotna (in Polish). Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  12. ↑ "Zmiana na stanowisku prezesa Grupy Polpharma" [A change of president at the Polpharma Group]. mgr.farm (in Polish). 28 October 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  13. 1 2 Kulka, Dorota (20 May 2026). "Polpharma wyprodukuje leki oparte na RNA. To nowy rozdział pomorskiej farmacji" [Polpharma will manufacture RNA-based medicines. A new chapter for Pomeranian pharmaceuticals] (in Polish). Marshal's Office of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  14. 1 2 Mieczkowska, Katarzyna (28 November 2022). "Bezpieczeństwo lekowe zagrożone? Prezes Polpharmy: oddaliśmy produkcję substancji czynnych" [Is drug security at risk? Polpharma's president: we gave away production of active substances]. Rynek Zdrowia (in Polish). Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  15. ↑ "Prezes Polpharmy: Polska może uniezależnić się od leków z Azji, ale potrzeba odważnych decyzji" [Polpharma's president: Poland can reduce its dependence on medicines from Asia, but bold decisions are needed]. Rynek Zdrowia (in Polish). 3 November 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  16. ↑ "Sebastian Szymanek – prelegenci XVI Europejskiego Kongresu Gospodarczego" [Sebastian Szymanek – speakers of the 16th European Economic Congress] (in Polish). European Economic Congress. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  17. ↑ "Sebastian Szymanek – prelegenci XVII Europejskiego Kongresu Gospodarczego" [Sebastian Szymanek – speakers of the 17th European Economic Congress] (in Polish). European Economic Congress. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  18. ↑ "Zdrowie: przyszłość systemu – XVIII Europejski Kongres Gospodarczy" [Health: the future of the system – 18th European Economic Congress] (in Polish). European Economic Congress. 22 April 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  19. ↑ "Gospodarcza siła Europy – XVIII Europejski Kongres Gospodarczy" [Europe's economic strength – 18th European Economic Congress] (in Polish). European Economic Congress. 22 April 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Sebastian Szymanek: postawienie na produkcję leków w Polsce to konieczność" [Sebastian Szymanek: committing to drug production in Poland is a necessity]. Puls Medycyny (in Polish). 16 May 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  21. ↑ "Szymanek: jesteśmy bezpieczniejszym partnerem dla innowatorów niż kraje azjatyckie" [Szymanek: we are a safer partner for innovators than Asian countries]. Rynek Zdrowia (in Polish). 14 November 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  22. ↑ "Sebastian Szymanek: Buduj na tym, co masz. W Europie" [Sebastian Szymanek: Build on what you have. In Europe]. Świat Lekarza (in Polish). 29 July 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  23. ↑ Gumowska, Paulina; Styczyński, Jakub (10 February 2024). "Prezes Polpharmy do ministra Miłkowskiego: podejmijmy decyzję, czy chcemy budować bezpieczeństwo lekowe" [Polpharma's president to minister Miłkowski: let us decide whether we want to build drug security]. Rynek Zdrowia (in Polish). Retrieved 1 September 2026.
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