Syneos Health Appoints Costa Panagos as Chief Executive Officer

Syneos Health recently announced the appointment of Costa Panagos as CEO and a member of the company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Panagos succeeds Colin Shannon who has been appointed Executive Chairman.

Panagos is a widely respected leader with more than 25 years of experience managing and driving growth at contract research organizations (CRO), with a proven track record of operational excellence and attracting and retaining customers. He most recently served as President, Research & Development Solutions at IQVIA, where he led the expansion of its network and capabilities and achieved record service bookings. Panagos joined IQVIA in 1999 as part of the Quintiles organization and during his more than two decades at the company, he held numerous sales, operational and executive leadership roles, including serving as the CEO of Q2 Solutions. Earlier in his career, he held various roles in the pharmaceutical division of Bayer.

“We’re delighted to welcome such a highly accomplished executive with a strong track record of execution and innovation,” Shannon said. “Costa will continue to focus on our people and our customers while building on the positive momentum we established over the past year. I am fully confident in his leadership and commitment to building a highly competitive organization.”

“Syneos Health has extraordinary capabilities and potential, and I’m honored to help lead the Company’s next phase of growth,” Panagos added. “With deep therapeutic, medical and scientific expertise, we’re uniquely positioned to deliver differentiated offerings – from early development to commercialization. Together with Colin, the Board, the Executive Team, and our colleagues worldwide, we’ll be relentless in the pursuit of accelerating customer success and making a meaningful impact on patients’ lives.”

In September 2023, the company announced the completion of its acquisition by a consortium of private investment firm affiliates composed of Elliott Investment Management L.P., Patient Square Capital and Veritas Capital.

Marc Steinberg, Partner at Elliott Investment Management L.P., said “Costa is the right CEO for Syneos Health, and his hiring demonstrates the Company’s continued success in attracting top talent. We are pleased to welcome Costa to the Syneos Health team, and we are confident that under his leadership, the Company will continue to improve operational performance, drive innovation and deliver world-class services and outcomes to our customers and partners.”

Jim Momtazee, Managing Partner of Patient Square Capital, said “Costa is well respected for his deep industry and life sciences experience as well as his leadership in managing global clinical development operations. His expertise in overseeing clinical trial delivery will be instrumental in allowing customers to bring much-needed therapies to patients.”

Ramzi Musallam, CEO of Veritas Capital, commented “Costa is a proven innovator, successfully utilizing technology to continuously improve the quality of service and customer delivery. We are confident that Costa will be able to leverage his expertise to continue the Company’s transformation and further enhance the Syneos Health customer experience.”

Syneos Health is a leading fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization built to accelerate customer success. We translate unique clinical, medical affairs and commercial insights into outcomes to address modern market realities. We bring together a talented team of professionals with a deep understanding of patient and physician behaviors and market dynamics. Together we share insights, use the latest technologies and apply advanced business practices to speed our customers’ delivery of important therapies to patients. Syneos Health supports a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture that cares for colleagues, customers, patients, communities and the environment. For more information, visit syneoshealth.com.