PAREXEL International chairman and CEO, Josef von Rickenbach, has been named 2013 chairman of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO).

Since its founding in 2002, ACRO has been committed to highlighting CRO expertise in all aspects of the clinical research enterprise. ACRO represents the CRO industry globally to pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, regulators and legislators, peer associations, academic organizations, patient groups, the media and the public.

"It is an honor to have been selected to lead ACRO's board of directors in 2013," said von Rickenbach. "As incoming chairman, I look forward to continuing the great momentum initiated by my predecessor to help ACRO and its members build and strengthen public understanding and confidence in clinical research. Equally, I welcome the opportunity to collaborate with the association's global stakeholders to promote the strategic value of clinical outsourcing, drive innovation in the drug development process and ensure the safe and ethical development of new medicines and treatments." 

von Rickenbach has taken PAREXEL from pioneering beginnings as one of the first CROs in the early 1980s to a top public biopharmaceutical services provider today. As chairman and CEO of PAREXEL, he was one of the first to define the clinical research services sector. To make clinical development more effective for clients, he conceived a multidisciplinary and systems-oriented approach to outsourced clinical development, bringing efficiencies, scalability and standardization to the process.

von Rickenbach served as chair of ACRO in 2005 and is a long-standing member of the ACRO board of directors. He also serves on the board of directors of the New England Healthcare Institute. He holds a B.S. degree in Business Economics from the School of Business at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.