Bayer's Mike Knowland joins PAGB as board member

PAGB, the consumer healthcare association, has appointed Mike Knowland, commercial lead for the UK & Ireland business at Bayer, as its board member.

Before joining Bayer as sales director in September 2019, Knowland has held various commercial, marketing and supply chain leadership roles at large multinational organisations including Unilever, Philips and Coty.

Welcoming Knowland to the board, Michelle Riddalls, CEO of PAGB, said: "He brings a wealth of commercial experience and insight which will be enormously valuable as we work towards the key goals set out in our strategy to 2025.”

PAGB’s strategic priorities to 2025 include addressing the impact of EU exit and supporting innovation in digital health.

The new appointment is also expected to support Bayer’s global mission to achieve ‘health for all, hunger for none’. The company’s consumer health portfolio encompasses brands including Rennie, Canesten, Sanatogen, Berocca, Clarityn and Bepanthen.

Knowland said: “I am looking forward to working with the PAGB on pressing topics to support positive industry changes, especially on our post-EU exit strategy, environmental sustainability and self-care.”

He added the pandemic has proven that having the right self-care solutions at home can help mitigate overburdened healthcare systems, making them more sustainable in the future.

“Ensuring that people are equipped to self-care and that they can work with a health system designed to support them in doing so is essential to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to lead as healthy a life as possible.”

PAGB, representing the manufacturers of branded over-the-counter medicines, self-care medical devices and food supplements in the UK, ensures best practice by overseeing self-regulation in advertising of consumer healthcare products.