Mr Silva will assume responsibility for overseeing the US, Canadian and Australian specialty pharmaceuticals operations.
Prior to joining Valeant, Mr Silva held various leadership positions with Novartis. His most recent position was president of Novartis Vaccines USA and head of vaccines of the Americas.
Mr Silva holds a bachelor of science in engineering, honors, from Princeton University, a master of science from Stanford University, and a MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael Pearson, chairman and CEO of Valeant, said: “We are very pleased to have Rajiv join the Valeant team. His experience in the global pharmaceutical industry and his track record on the operations side should serve as important assets to the Valeant team as we continue to focus our business on efficiency and profitability.”