Four Pharma Executives Featured in Fortune's Inaugural List of 100 Most Influential Business Leaders
GSK
Pharmaceutical R&D Manufacturer
Source: Fortune China WeChat Official Account Editor: Shuijing
On November 20, FORTUNE released the list of the world's 100 most influential business leaders.Four business leaders come from multinational pharmaceutical companies:
Four Pharma Tycoons
1. Emma Walmsley,GSK CEO (25th)
Emma Walmsley's revival plan for the British pharmaceutical company has been underway for nearly eight years, aiming to restore the company's growth. Her efforts are already showing initial success.
GSK's first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, Arexvy, played a crucial role. The successful launch of this vaccine made up for the company’s earlier failure to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. Released in the third quarter of 2023, the Arexvy vaccine generated $1.6 billion in sales for GSK in its first year.
Moreover, the sales of the shingles vaccine Shingrix have also shown strong growth momentum. GSK recorded revenue of $37.5 billion in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%.
2. Zhou Fude, CEO and President of Novo Nordisk (29th)
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen joined Novo Nordisk over 30 years ago, initially serving as an economist in the healthcare, economics, and planning department.
He has served as CEO since 2017 and led the company to achieve significant growth, particularly driven by the success of the popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
In 2023 alone, the company's overall sales increased by more than 30%. However, this Danish company is facing increasingly fierce market competition and supply challenges this year.
3. David A. Ricks, Chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly (31st)
Dave Ricks has served as the CEO of Eli Lilly and Company since 2017, but he has held various positions within the company since 1996. In recent years, Eli Lilly and Company has experienced rapid growth.
In 2023, Eli Lilly's diabetes drug Zepbound was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for weight loss purposes. This helped the company achieve $34 billion in revenue for the 2023 fiscal year, a nearly 20% increase year-over-year.
In 2024, Eli Lilly and Company announced an additional investment of $5.3 billion to boost the production capacity of this product.
4. Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer (97th)
Since 2019, Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla has led the company through a global pandemic, rapidly developing and deploying a vaccine that eventually reached tens of millions of people. This single effort nearly doubled Pfizer’s revenue in the 2021 fiscal year, reaching approximately $81.3 billion.
Since then, the company has lagged behind competitors like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk in the weight-loss drug race. However, growth in the third-quarter earnings gave Albert Bourla some breathing room.
List Introduction
According to the introduction, this list includes leaders from 40 industries, with ages ranging from the 30s to the 90s. It encompasses well-known founders and CEOs of great companies, as well as industry disruptors and innovators.
In addition to achieving scale growth, these business leaders are also breaking down industry and regional barriers, expanding their influence in the global market.
The list does not include "fossil-level" individuals who are no longer active in the business world."No billionaires, no politicians, regulators, or seconds-in-command."
"The Most Influential Business Leaders"榜单的上榜者都有一个共同的特质, which means that their words, actions, and wealth are influencing the thoughts and behaviors of others.