Albert Bourla

Albert Bourla (; born ) is a Greek-American veterinarian and businessman known for serving as the chairman and chief executive officer of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. He joined the company in 1993 and has held several executive roles across Pfizer's divisions. Prior to becoming chief executive officer, Bourla was chief operating officer.

In addition to chairing the boards of Pfizer and the Pfizer Foundation, Bourla is or has been on the boards of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Catalyst, the Partnership for New York City, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. He is also a member of The Business Council, American think tank the Council on Foreign Relations and the Business Roundtable.

Bourla reshaped Pfizer to focus on research and development. Bourla opposes government interference in pharmaceutical pricing, which he argues would hamper spending on development of new drugs.

Early life and education

Family history and the Holocaust Bourla was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece. His parents, Mois and Sara, who were Sephardi Jews, were among the 2,000 of 50,000 Jews in Thessaloniki to survive the Holocaust ; according to Bourla, his mother was allegedly minutes away from execution by firing squad when she was spared via a ransom paid to a Nazi Party official by her non-Jewish brother-in-law, while his father happened to be out of the Jewish ghetto when the residents were taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp and went into hiding, never to see his parents again.

Bourla has spoken with the Museum of Jewish Heritage in downtown Manhattan about his family's history and experience with the Holocaust. During a 2026 interview with CNN, Bourla said his mother's experience of being saved from the firing squad taught him and his sister "how life is miraculous" and "you don’t have to think things are impossible."

Education Bourla earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1985 and a Ph.D. in the biotechnology of reproduction at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki's School of Veterinary Science in 1991. Bourla's doctoral thesis (1991) is titled "Effect of melatonin implants on sperm characteristics and on the freezability of Karagouniki ram semen".

Career Bourla joined Pfizer in 1993, first as a doctor of veterinary medicine and technical director for the company's animal health division in Greece. He left Greece with his wife when he was 34 after a promotion within Pfizer and since then he has lived in seven different cities, in four different countries. In 2001, he immigrated to the United States. In the latter role, he managed the merger of Wyeth's Fort Dodge Animal Health business with Pfizer in these regions. There, he built business for the company's drugs that had recently lost patent exclusivity. where he led Pfizer's work on cancer and heart drugs, among others, and helped launch Eliquis, an anticoagulant, and Ibrance, a breast cancer treatment drug.

From February 2016 to December 2017, he was group president of Pfizer Innovative Health. In 2016, during his tenure, Innovative Health's revenue increased by 11%.

He was promoted to chief executive officer in October 2018, effective January 1, 2019, succeeding Ian Read, his mentor. In an announcement shortly after taking the role, Bourla explained that Pfizer would focus on scientific and pharmaceutical innovation, divesting from non-core businesses and increasing research spending.

In February 2019, Bourla was one of seven CEOs in the pharmaceutical industry who participated in a hearing on prescription drug prices in the United States with the United States Senate Committee on Finance.

In January 2020, Bourla assumed the additional post of executive chairman, upon the retirement of Ian Read. Bourla received $21million in compensation from Pfizer in 2020.

In 2020, Bourla pushed Pfizer employees for the fast development of a COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with German company BioNTech, making sure it is safe and effective. He told his team that "financial returns should not drive any decisions" with regards to the vaccine. He took the risk of producing the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine before approval from the Food and Drug Administration so that it would be ready to ship immediately upon approval. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pfizer's pricing strategy was called "war profiteering" by former CDC chief Tom Frieden.

In December 2021, the UK's Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority found that comments Bourla made to the BBC on vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 breached the pharmaceutical advertising code, though it overturned the more serious findings on the appeal.

In July 2022, Bourla restructured Pfizer by selling its stake in its consumer health care business, Haleon, during his tenure as CEO. Moonshot was published by HarperCollins.

In 2023, Bourla's total compensation from Pfizer was $21.5 million, representing a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 291-to-1. On March 13 2023, Bourla announced Pfizer's $43 billion acquisition of Seagen, an American biotechnology company specializing in monoclonal antibody therapies for treating cancer. In September 2025, Bourla announced Pfizer's $10 billion acquisition of Metsera, a biopharmaceutical company that developed treatments for obesity and metabolic syndromes. Bourla stated plans to launch GLP-1 receptor agonist therapies by 2028.

Bourla is credited with refocusing Pfizer's vaccine division to focus on Staphylococcus, Clostridioides difficile infection, infant diseases and the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

Other activities and politics Bourla has been on the Health Section Governing board of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, the largest biotechnology trade association worldwide. He joined Pfizer's board of directors in February 2018, and also is on the board of the Pfizer Foundation. a global nonprofit organization promoting the advancement of women, and the Partnership for New York City,

Bourla was the chair of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade association representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. Bourla concluded his role as chair in February 2026. Bourla has served as both vice president and president of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations. Bourla is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an American think tank focused on United States foreign policy and international relations.

He is a supporter of the Aris Thessaloniki sports club. To benefit Greece, he has organized vaccine donations, medical aid for refugees, and given more than $1million in medicine to help uninsured patients. He established the Pfizer Artificial Intelligence Center in his hometown, directed Pfizer's participation in the Thessaloniki International Fair, is close friends with Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the United States ambassador to Greece, and brought Pfizer's leadership team to Greece to meet with Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Bourla also earned a 2022 Double Helix Medal "for spearheading the rapid development of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine".

Bourla has made political contributions to both Republicans and Democrats, particularly those who oppose controls on prescription drug prices in the United States.

Bourla is a member of The Business Council, an organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C., and the Business Roundtable, a group of chief executives of major U.S. corporations established to promote pro-business public policy.

In January 2023, Bourla was named co-chair of the board of directors for the Partnership for New York City (PFNYC). Bourla, along with Tishman Speyer CEO Rob Speyer, led a search committee to find a president and CEO for the PFNYC, eventually selecting former Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop.

In a meeting with New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani on July15, 2025, Bourla asked Mamdani to defend his usage of the phrase "globalize the intifada" in relation to the Gaza War, to which the mayor explained his belief of the phrase as a slogan for Palestinian rights but acknowledged the pain the phrase caused Jewish people and pledged to discourage its use.

Recognition

In April 2019, at the Prix Galien Greece Awards ceremony, Bourla was presented with the award for "Preeminent Greek Leader" of the global pharmaceutical industry by Geoffrey R. Pyatt, United States ambassador to Greece.

In 2020, Bourla was ranked as America's top CEO in the pharmaceutical industry by Institutional Investor.

In January 2022, Bourla was awarded the $1 million Genesis Prize for his leadership in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Genesis Prize is awarded annually to an individual for professional achievement, contributions to humanity and commitment to Jewish ethics.

In May 2024, Bourla was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by U.S. president Joe Biden in honor of President William Ruto at the White House.

Bourla was named in Time 2024 list of Top 100 most influential people in health.

Personal life Bourla and his wife live in Scarsdale, New York.

Bourla maintains a home in Chalkidiki, which he visits every summer.