Knowledge@wharton

Alex Gorsky was named head of Pharma North America and CEO of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. the U.S. affiliate of Swiss drug giant Novartis in the fall of 2005. Since joining the company in 2004 as chief operating officer and head of general medicines Gorsky has overseen the continued growth of Novartis’s industry-leading cardiovascular franchise notably the blockbuster drugs Diovan and Lotrel. The company sells a variety of products including those that treat endocrine and respiratory disease gastrointestinal illnesses cancer and blood disorders and bone and joint conditions among others. Prior to joining Novartis Gorsky was company group chairman for Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical business in Europe the Middle East and Africa. Before that he spent 15 years in sales marketing and management at Janssen Pharmaceutica. Gorsky was recently on campus to take part in a Wharton business roundtable on leadership and agreed to talk with Knowledge at Wharton about trends in the pharmaceutical indu