Daniel Vasella

Daniel Vasella (born 1953) is a Swiss medical doctor and executive who was chief executive and later chairman of the pharmaceutical company Novartis. Born in Fribourg, he took his medical degree at the University of Bern in 1980, then moved into the drug industry, joining the American arm of Sandoz in 1988 and becoming chief executive of Sandoz Pharma in 1992. He helped arrange the 1996 merger of Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy that created Novartis and was named chief executive of the combined company, then chairman of its board in 1999. He gave up the chief executive post in January 2010 and left the chairmanship in February 2013, when a large payment tied to his departure drew public criticism. Time named him one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2004.