NORTHBROOK, Ill., March 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas today announced three senior-level changes in its global Legal and Human Resources organizations.

Roderick (Rod) Christmon is promoted to executive director, Medical & Development, leading the Human Resources team for the global function.

"Since joining Astellas in 2008, Rod has made significant contributions to our Human Resources organization," said Collette Taylor, senior vice president, Human Resources. "Rod's experience managing top talent and retaining the best people at Astellas will position him well for this new role."

Christmon previously served as Human Resources senior director and Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Prior to Astellas, Christmon worked at Kraft Foods in multiple roles including Human Resources business partner and Equal Employment Opportunity officer. Christmon also served at ComEd in Human Resources roles supporting Labor Relations, Talent Acquisition, and Human Resources. Christmon earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Florida A&M University.

Effective April 1, Matt Silversten is promoted to vice president, Legal Head of Litigation and Investigations, overseeing global legal support. Brian Taylor is also promoted to vice president, Legal Head of Business Development/Alliance Management and will be responsible for managing legal support globally as well as legal support for other complex transactions.

"Brian and Matt's leadership further strengthen Astellas' ability to support our business objectives, protect our key assets and manage risk from a global enterprise perspective," said Linda Friedman, executive vice president and Astellas General Counsel.

Taylor joined Astellas in 2007. He previously served as Astellas Deputy General Counsel, Development & Commercial Strategy/Corporate Operations. Prior to Astellas, Taylor served as vice president of Legal, Pharmaceutical Products Group & Corporate Affairs, at Abbott Laboratories where he was responsible for legal oversight of pharma R&D/commercial and corporate operations. He earned his Juris Doctorate from William & Mary Law School.  

Silversten joined Astellas in 2011. Prior to Astellas, he worked at Jones Day, representing corporations in civil litigation and internal investigations. Silversten earned his Juris Doctorate from the Ohio State College of Law.

About Astellas

Astellas is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at http://www.astellas.us/. You can also follow us on Twitter at @AstellasUS, Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AstellasUS or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/astellas-pharma.

SOURCE Astellas