Janssen South Africa Appoints Ahmed El Hofy as General Manager

JOHANNESBURG, January 25^th, 2022 – The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson welcomes its new General Manager for South Africa, Ahmed El Hofy, who assumed his role starting January 2023. Ahmed succeeds Francisco Plaza, who has transferred to a new role within Johnson & Johnson in the United States.

Ahmed brings with him a wealth of knowledge and diverse experience having been in the Pharmaceutical Industry for over 20 years across the Middle East & Africa. He has worked in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and East Africa, within top-tier research-based multinational companies. Prior to his move to South Africa, Ahmed served as Commercial Director for Janssen within the JENA cluster, responsible for the Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Sudan, and Ethiopia markets. He was engaged in the development of commercial strategies and implementation of tactics across a broad range of therapeutic areas; a role he held since joining Janssen in 2021.  

His affinity with the continent and move to South Africa excites Ahmed. He graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Cairo University (Egypt) and holds an MBA from the University of Leicester (UK), along with completing a leadership diploma from Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

Says Ahmed: “South Africa has enormous potential on so many levels. And the development of talent in a market where so much of it exists, is one of the key attractions.” Throughout his career journey, enabling the growth of individuals to live their whole purpose and to fully materialize their career aspirations, has always been a priority for him.

Guided by the solid foundation of Johnson & Johnson’s Credo and through the prioritisation of patients, Ahmed is looking forward to collaborating with a varied number of stakeholders to collectively improve access to quality healthcare in South Africa. This will happen with a significant focus on key therapeutic areas that include Oncology, Immunology, Neuroscience, and Pulmonary Hypertension, among others.

Ahmed believes: “A healthy people nurtures a prosperous nation, and we’ll save no effort to have a hand in the upliftment of health for South Africans; a vision that I will proudly continue to fly the Janssen flag for.”

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