ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis (>> Novartis AG) has appointed new heads of its eyecare business Alcon and generics division Sandoz, the group's second and third largest businesses after pharmaceuticals.

Jeff George, who previously led Sandoz, will replace retiring Kevin Buehler as head of Alcon, effective May 1, Novartis said on Wednesday.

Richard Francis will become head of Sandoz, the drugmaker added. Francis previously held leadership roles in sales and commercial divisions at Sanofi (>> SANOFI) and Wyeth (>> Wyeth Limited).

Alcon and Sandoz generated net sales of $10.5 billion and $9.2 billion in 2013, respectively.

(Reporting by Alice Baghdjian; Editing by Mark Potter)

Stocks treated in this article : SANOFI, Wyeth Limited, Novartis AG