Daniel Vasella

Daniel Vasella
Vasella at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2013
Born	Daniel Lucius Vasella (1953-08-15) August 15, 1953 (age 63) Fribourg, Switzerland
Residence	Risch, Switzerland
Alma mater	University of Bern (MD) Harvard Business School (PMD)
Occupation	Unemployed, consulting for different companies, Director of Boards
Net worth	300M USD +
Spouse(s)	Anne-Laurence
Children	3

Daniel Lucius Vasella, M.D. (born 15 August 1953) is a medical doctor, author, and executive who served as CEO and chairman of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG, the world's fifth largest drug company. During his tenure the Novartis shares declined 10%, below the industry.

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.

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. At eight years old, he contracted TB and meningitis and spent nearly a year in hospitals. When Vasella was 13 years old, his father died from complications of surgery.

Vasella obtained his M.D. in 1980 from the University of Bern in Switzerland. He completed his residency at the University Hospital in Bern and the city hospital in Zurich, before returning to Bern as chief resident. In 1988, he changed career paths, working in the United States as a pharmaceutical sales representative and in market research. In 1989, he completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School. Vasella was awarded an honorary doctorate for medicine by the University of Basel in 2002.