BioNTech SE
Leadership History
4 leaders · 2008 to present
Uğur Şahin is the CEO of BioNTech, in the role since 2008.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guido Oelkers | Incoming Chief Executive Officer (takes office by February 1, 2027) | 2027 | Present | -1 |
| Sean Marett | Chief Business and Commercial Officer | 2012 | 2024 | 12 |
| Uğur Şahin | Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder | 2008 | Present | 18 |
| Özlem Türeci | Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder | 2008 | Present | 18 |
BioNTech SE is a German biotechnology company headquartered in Mainz and listed on Nasdaq as BNTX. Physicians Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci founded it in 2008 with oncologist Christoph Huber to build individualized cancer immunotherapies on mRNA. That platform became Comirnaty, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine first authorized in December 2020, which earned BioNTech ~$11.6 billion (€10.29 billion) of net profit in 2021. Since 2023 the company has redirected the windfall into oncology: it bought Biotheus for full rights to pumitamig, licensed antibody-drug conjugates, partnered pumitamig with Bristol Myers Squibb, and acquired mRNA rival CureVac in December 2025. It had 7,807 employees at the end of 2025. The company is headquartered in Mainz, Germany.
Incoming Chief Executive Officer (takes office by February 1, 2027)
2027 – Present
-1 years (current)
Appointed August 3, 2026; takes office by February 1, 2027 at the latest.
Appointed by the Supervisory Board on August 3, 2026 to succeed Ugur Sahin. Oelkers has more than 30 years in pharma and biotech and has been CEO of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi) since 2017. His mandate is to turn BioNTech into a multi-product oncology company by 2030.
Chief Business and Commercial Officer
2012 – 2024
12 years
Built BioNTech's partnering and commercial functions.
Marett joined BioNTech's management in 2012 and helped negotiate its pharma partnerships, including the 2020 Pfizer collaboration on the COVID-19 vaccine. BioNTech announced his planned retirement from the Management Board in March 2024; Annemarie Hanekamp became Chief Commercial Officer on July 1, 2024.
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
2008 – Present
18 years (current)
Launched Project Lightspeed in January 2020; partnered with Pfizer in March 2020; redirected pandemic profits to oncology from 2023.
Sahin has led BioNTech since its 2008 founding, took it public on Nasdaq in 2019 and directed Project Lightspeed in 2020, which produced Comirnaty with Pfizer. After the pandemic he steered the company back to oncology through the Biotheus, CureVac and InstaDeep acquisitions and the 2025 Bristol Myers Squibb deal for pumitamig. He leaves by the end of 2026 to lead a new mRNA company with Özlem Türeci.
Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder
2008 – Present
18 years (current)
Led clinical strategy for Comirnaty and the oncology pipeline.
Türeci has run BioNTech's clinical development since 2008, from early mRNA cancer vaccine trials to Comirnaty and the late-stage oncology portfolio. She leaves with Sahin by the end of 2026.
These officers report to the chief executive and are not part of the CEO timeline above.
Falling COVID-19 vaccine revenue (2026 guidance cut to €1.6-1.9 billion), a net loss that reached ~$1.53 billion (€1.35 billion) in H1 2026, no approved cancer drug yet, mRNA patent suits from Moderna and Bayer's Monsanto unit, the wind-down of four manufacturing sites, and a CEO transition from the founders to Guido Oelkers.
Prof. Dr. Uğur Şahin, M.D., is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BioNTech. Born in İskenderun, Turkey, and raised in Cologne, Germany, Şahin is a physician, oncologist, and professor of translational oncology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz who has published hundreds of peer-reviewed papers on immunotherapy.
Prof. Özlem Türeci, M.D., is a co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of BioNTech, responsible for clinical development. She is leaving with Ugur Sahin by the end of 2026 to lead their new mRNA company.
In 2001, Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci founded Ganymed Pharmaceuticals to develop monoclonal antibodies against cancer (including zolbetuximab for gastric cancer). Ganymed was acquired by Astellas Pharma in 2016 for up to $1.4 billion (€1.28 billion).
Prof. Dr. Christoph Huber is a renowned Austrian hematologist-oncologist and co-founder of BioNTech who served as Chairman of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT) and played a key role in establishing BioNTech's clinical infrastructure in Mainz.
Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci have received numerous prestigious global honors, including the Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (presented by the German President), the Paul Ehrlich Prize, and the Princess of Asturias Award.
Helmut Jeggle is the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BioNTech, having supported the founding team from inception and previously managed the private investment office of the billionaire Strüngmann family (Athos KG).
Guido Oelkers, Ph.D., CEO of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi) since 2017, was appointed on August 3, 2026 and takes office by February 1, 2027 at the latest. He has more than 30 years of pharma and biotech experience, including oncology and immunology.
They are leaving to lead an independent company focused on next-generation mRNA medicines, to which BioNTech plans to contribute related rights and technologies. German media reported that they set up a company named Arife in Mainz on September 1, 2026.
Uğur Şahin, a highly respected oncologist and the original co-founder, serves as CEO. He famously initiated "Project Lightspeed" to develop the COVID-19 vaccine immediately after reading a scientific paper about the initial outbreak in Wuhan.
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