John C. Lechleiter

John C. Lechleiter (born 1952) is an American businessman and chemist. He served as president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of directors of Eli Lilly and Company from April 2008 to December 2016.

Early life and education Lechleiter first participated in laboratory research in a summer research program at the University of Minnesota in 1974. His thesis advisor was Dr. Paul A. Wender. In 2004, he became Executive Vice President for pharmaceutical operations.

In 2012, he earned US$15.57 million, according to Forbes. In 2013, he said his advice to others was "...move quickly, but the most important thing is to be patient, resolute, and be guided by the data."

Board and organizational memberships Lechleiter is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Business Roundtable and The Business Council. the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and the Great Lakes Chemical Corporation.

He has served on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Xavier University, for a three-year term beginning in September 2004, and on the board of the Life Sciences Foundation.

In 2014, he became chairman of United Way Worldwide, which Lilly has supported for many years through both corporate giving and volunteerism. Lilly employees are encouraged to participate in the Lilly Global Day of Service, an internationally observed day of charitable work in their communities. Lechleiter began the initiative in 2008, the year that he became CEO. Lechleiter has identified poor K-12 and STEM education as "this country's Achilles' heel",

In 2014, he was named as the August M. Watanabe Life Sciences Champion of the Year for his work in supporting the development of the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute.

In 2015, he received the International Citizen of the Year Award from the International Center of Indianapolis.

Personal life Lechleiter and his wife Sarah live in Indianapolis, Indiana, and have three children and several grandchildren.