Dr Vasella has served as Chief Executive Officer and executive member of the Board of Directors since the merger that created Novartis in 1996. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors in 1999.

He has led Novartis through dynamic growth to rank among the world’s most successful healthcare companies with a business strategy focused on a diversified portfolio of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, generics and consumer health. Dr Vasella has also implemented several pioneering initiatives to ensure access to medicines in the areas of malaria, cancer and leprosy, among others, dedicating 2.3% of revenues each year to these programs.

Dr Vasella graduated with an MD from the University of Bern, Switzerland, in 1979 and was a practicing physician until he joined Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation in 1988, where he held the position of CEO before the merger with Ciba-Geigy.

Dr Vasella has been honored with several awards, including the Harvard Business School’s Alumni Achievement Award and Appeal of Conscience Award, the AJ Congress Humanitarian Award, the Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul (Brazil), and holds the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur (France). He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Basel. In addition, a readership survey by the Financial Times selected Dr Vasella as the most influential European businessman of the past quarter century.

During Dr Vasella’s tenure as Chairman and CEO, Novartis has been included on Ethisphere Institute’s list of the world’s most ethical companies, Fortune magazine’s list of the world’s most admired companies and the Barron’s magazine list of the world’s most respected companies.

Dr Vasella is a member of the Board of Directors of Pepsico, Inc, New York, and of Alcon, Inc, Switzerland. He is also a member of the Global Health Program Advisory Panel of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the International Business Leaders Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai, and the International Board of Governors of the Peres Center for Peace in Israel.