FILE PHOTO: A Novartis logo is pictured on its headquarters building in Mumbai April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis NOVN.S said it appointed company veteran Susanne Schaffert to lead its oncology unit from Jan. 1, replacing Liz Barrett who is stepping down to return to the United States.

Schaffert, who has been with Novartis for more than 20 years and has been part of its global oncology leadership team since 2013, will report to Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan and join the executive committee, the Swiss pharma group said in a statement on Thursday.

Barrett, a U.S. citizen who’d been at the helm of the unit since February 2018, said in the statement that she had accepted the role of CEO of a U.S. biotech firm because her family was unable to relocate to Basel, where Novartis’ oncology headquarters are based.