Dan Vasella

Daniel Lucius Vasella (born 15 August 1953) is a Swiss medical doctor, author, and executive who was CEO and chairman of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG, the world's fifth largest drug company. During his tenure Novartis shares fell 10%, compared to the industry average.

In November 2014, Vasella was elected as a member of the board of directors at XBiotech, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company located in Austin, Texas, that focuses on the discovery and commercialization of a next generation of therapeutic antibodies which harness a human's natural immunity to fight disease. Vasella is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2004, Time magazine named him one of the world's 100 most influential people, and he was chosen as the Most Influential European Business Leader of the Last 25 Years by the readers of the Financial Times. He is a former member of the steering committee of the Bilderberg Group.

Early life and education

Vasella was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, in 1953. His father was a history professor at the local university, and his mother was a housewife. His desire to become a doctor began during his childhood, which was marked by several tragedies. When Vasella was 13 years old, his father died from complications of surgery.

Vasella helped to orchestrate the 1996 merger between Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy, another Swiss pharmaceutical company. Vasella was named an honorary chairman, to be succeeded by Jörg Reinhard in August 2013. According to the Ethos foundation Vasella earned from 2002 until 2012 312 Mio CHF from Novartis, and for the years before they estimated it to 60 Mio CHF, a total of 421 Mio CHF in 2013. That he should get 72 Mio CHF for a noncompetition clause at the end made him a public figure during the campaign for the Swiss referendum "against rip-off salaries".

Other activities Numab Therapeutics, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2019) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Member of the Global Health Program Advisory Panel (since 2008)

Writing Vasella authored Magic Cancer Bullet: How a Tiny Orange Pill May Rewrite Medical History (2003), a book about the discovery and development of the breakthrough cancer drug Gleevec. The book was co-written with Robert Slater.

Personal life

Vasella met Anne-Laurence Moret, the niece of former Sandoz CFO, CEO, and chairman Marc Moret, in 1973, and they were married in 1978. Vasella and his wife have two sons and a daughter. His older brother, Andrea Vasella, was a professor at the ETH Zurich.

Awards and recognition

Vasella has received numerous awards including:

2003: Harvard Alumnus Award 2004: Most Influential European Business Leader of the Last 25 Years by the readers of Financial Times University of Marburg’s Karl Winnacker Preis 2007 Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2008 GILD Award for Leadership: Warren Bennis Award for Excellence in Leadership, 2010