Pfizer: Ian Read
Ian Read will be stepping down as Pfizer’s CEO, after holding the position for eight years.
Read will hand the position to Bourla on January 1 2019 and will become executive chairman for an indefinite period of time.
Read has been at Pfizer since 1978 where he began his career as an operational auditor. He held various positions at the company, including being CFO of Pfizer Mexico and being county manager in Brazil. He was appointed executive vice president of Europe & Canada in 2000 and vice president of Pfizer in 2001. In 2006 Read took on the role of president of worldwide pharmaceutical operations.
As Bourla takes his place Read stated, “The company has come out of the abyss it was in, and is really poised for growth.”
Getting out of the ‘abyss’ is often attributed to the moves Read took to cut costs and expand into emerging markets. He also focused Pfizer on the development of prescription drugs and vaccines, moving it away from animal health, and other non-core business.