Aspen chair Kuseni Dlamini will step down from the board in December, the company announced on Thursday, leaving veteran board member Ben Kruger to take the helm.The announcement follows a strong year for the pharmaceutical giant, in which a series of high-value deals allowed it to achieve debt-free status for the first time in decades.Dlamini, a former head of Old Mutual’s operations in Africa, Asia and Latin America and Massmart chair, has served on Aspen’s board for 14 years, helping it steer a rapid, debt-fuelled global expansion and the subsequent transformation of its balance sheet.Aspen CEO Stephen Saad told Business Day earlier this year the company was ready to ramp up growth after becoming debt-free for the first time since he founded it in 1997.(Dorothy Kgosi ) That milestone followed the A$2.37bn sale of Aspen’s Asia-Pacific business, excluding China, to Melbourne-based BGH Capital.The company also expects a windfall from generic GLP-1 weight-loss drugs as it expands to fill the gap left by rival Novo Nordisk, whose semaglutide patent expires in many emerging markets this year. The market for these drugs is expected to reach at least $100bn by decade’s end, according to Reuters.Kruger, a finance sector heavyweight who joined the board in 2019, will lead this new charge. He was previously the CEO of Standard Bank’s corporate and investment banking division in 2001 and also serves on the boards of Stanbic Holdings and the JSE.In a statement on Thursday, Aspen said Dlamini has “advised the board that he will not make himself available for re-election as a director at the company’s annual general meeting to be held in December 2026″.Shares in Aspen closed 2.21% weaker at R147.08, but remain more than 25% higher for the year.Business Day