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By Noëlle Mennella
PARIS (Reuters) - Sanofi (PA:SASY) will hold a board meeting by telephone on Tuesday from 1100 GMT to 1200 GMT, two sources close to the French drugmaker told Reuters.
The board is set to discuss Sanofi's situation and governance after it summarily ousted its chief executive Chris Viehbacher last month. Chairman Serge Weinberg has taken the helm while the company looks for a new CEO.
Viehbacher's sudden dismissal, which followed a sharp slowdown at Sanofi's key diabetes business, surprised investors who had hailed the CEO's efforts to strengthen the firm and make it more global.
The board blamed Viehbacher's brusque management and poor execution of the group's strategy, but it had no successor lined up and it is unlikely it will be in a position to appoint one on Tuesday, the sources said.
Olivier Bohuon, the French boss of artificial knee and hip maker Smith & Nephew (L:SN), AstraZeneca's (L:AZN) Pascal Soriot and former Wyeth boss Bernard Poussot have been suggested by industry observers as potential candidates.
The sources said the board also planned to appoint a new director, after Thierry Desmaret resigned last month to focus on his role as chairman ofTotall (PA:TOTF), and a new chairman for the appointments and governance committee, currently led by Weinberg.
Sanofi media representatives declined to comment.
Sanofi shares closed 1.8 percent higher on Monday after the drugmaker disclosed it had bought back shares for the first time in four months.
The company also announced on Monday that executive committee member and industrial affairs chief Philippe Luscan would become president of Sanofi France as of Jan. 1 to replace Christian Lajoux, who is leaving after 21 years with the group.
Weinberg and other senior executives are set to brief investors on Sanofi's upcoming drugs at an event in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Thursday.
(Writing by Natalie Huet; Editing by Mark Potter)