Alex Gorsky
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Alex Gorsky (born 1960) is an American businessman. He is the former chairman and CEO of
Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...
. Gorsky stepped down as CEO of Johnson & Johnson in January 2022 and was succeeded by Joaquin Duato. He was the seventh person who was the company's chairman and CEO since it became a publicly traded company in 1944. He is a board director of
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
and JP Morgan Chase.


Early life and education

Gorsky's grandparents immigrated to the United States from Russia and Croatia. Gorsky was the third of six children of Albert and Loretta (née Bartolac) Gorsky in Kansas City, Kansas. When he was 12, his family moved to Fremont, Michigan, where his father, a
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
veteran, took a job as a marketing executive for Gerber Foods. In high school, Gorsky was captain of the varsity football team, assuming positions as quarterback and linebacker. He was also captain of the swimming team. In 1977, as a member of Boy's State, Gorsky was chosen to represent Michigan at the Boy's Nation national conference. In the same year, Congressman
Guy Vander Jagt Guy Adrian Vander Jagt ( ; August 26, 1931 – June 22, 2007) was a Republican politician from Michigan. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Vander Jagt was desc ...
nominated Gorsky to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 1981, Gorsky was one of the cadets chosen for the Army Ranger School where he earned a Ranger Tab. In May 1982, when Gorsky graduated from West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree, he joined the Artillery Branch of the U.S Army. As lieutenant at the age of 22, he led an artillery platoon. After six years as an officer, serving in Europe and Panama, he became captain in 1987. In 1988, Gorsky married Patricia Dittrich, a hospital nurse in Carmel, California. Gorsky left the Army in 1988. Gorsky earned his
Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...
from The Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
in 1996.


Career


Janssen

Gorsky joined Johnson & Johnson in 1988 as a sales representative in its pharmaceutical business unit, Janssen Pharmaceuticals. He held various management and leadership roles at Janssen before becoming Company Group Chairman overseeing Europe, Middle East, and Africa in 2003. Gorsky led the marketing of products such as Risperdal. Ultimately Johnson & Johnson was fined $2.2 billion for strategies that downplayed the drug's side effects, encouraged off-label use, and provided kickback payments to Omnicare, a company that provided drug services to
nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...
s.


Novartis

Gorsky joined the Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation in 2004 as chief operating officer and head of General Medicines. In 2005, he was appointed Head of Pharmaceuticals North America and Chief Executive Officer. During his tenure, he created the CEO Diversity & Inclusion Award. He oversaw the growth of its
cardiovascular In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart a ...
and other franchises.


Johnson & Johnson

Gorsky returned to Johnson & Johnson in 2008 when he was appointed company group chairman for Ethicon, Inc. In September 2009, he was promoted to worldwide chairman, medical devices & diagnostics. Then-CEO William C. Weldon chose Gorsky to be vice chairman in the office of the chairman. In April 2012, Gorsky was appointed
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
. In December 2012, Gorsky was appointed chairman . A longtime advocate of diversity and inclusion, Gorsky was named one of the "100 Most Inspiring Leaders" by Pharma Voice. Gorsky oversaw the company's legal defense against talc class action suits and opioid lawsuits. In January 2020, Gorsky testified at the New Jersey trial about Johnson & Johnson's baby powder product. Under Gorsky's leadership, the company stock more than tripled, and averaged more than a 15% annual return, surpassing the S&P 500. Johnson & Johnson's market capitalization went from nearly $180 billion to more than $470 billion. "As the world's largest health care company, we are bringing to bear our best scientific minds, and rigorous standards of safety, in collaboration with regulators, to accelerate the fight against this pandemic," Gorsky said in '' New Jersey Business magazine'' in 2020. Gorsky attributed the strong multilayered immune response from J&J's vaccine to its innovative adenovirus-vector platform, AdVac, which it has developed over a decade. Gorsky was the executive sponsor of the J&J Women's Leadership Initiative and the Veteran's Leadership Council. In 2021, with a salary of $23.14 million, he ranked second on the list of highest-paid CEOs in healthcare, according to Becker's Hospital Review. Gorsky was the speaker at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania 2022 MBA graduation ceremony.


Other roles

Gorsky is a member of The Business Council's executive committee and was chair of the Business Roundtable Corporate Governance Committee. Since 2014, Gorsky has been on the board of directors at
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
. Gorsky is a board member at Apple, Inc.,
JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...
, and the National Academy Foundation. He is on the advisory board at Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point, and is co-chair of the Strategic Investor Initiative (SII) advisory board at Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP). Gorsky is a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center's CEO Council on Health and Innovation and of The Wharton Leadership Advisory Board. Gorsky is vice chairman of the Travis Manion Foundation. Gorsky was on the American Manufacturing Council, and was a member of the
American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate Heart, cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability ...
CEO Roundtable.


Philanthropy and awards

* Gorsky and his wife Pat donated to the Doylestown Health Foundation twice; $5 million in 2017 and $5 million in 2022. * Mentor of the Year by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association in 2009 * Joseph Wharton Leadership Award in 2014 * CADCA Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2014 * Corporate Humanitarian Award by Operation Smile in 2015 * Appeal of Conscience Award by Appeal of Conscience Foundation in 2015. * ROBIE Award by the Jackie Robinson Foundation in 2017 * Ripple of Hope Award by Robert F Kennedy Human Rights in 2017 * Honorary Doctorate from
Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. ...
in 2018 * Diversity Inc. Global Inclusive Leaders Award in 2018 * Honorary Doctorate from Ferris State University College of Health Profession and Michigan College of Optometry * West Point Distinguished Graduate Award in 2020 * Gorsky was ranked #2 on the NJBIZ Manufacturing Power 50 list in 2020 * Legend in Leadership Award by
Yale School of Management The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Admi ...
in 2021 * Red Jacket Award by PharmaVoice 2021 * BENS Eisenhower Award 2021 * Top 30 Modern Healthcare Leaders 2022


References


External links


Alex Gorsky Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorsky, Alex American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies Johnson & Johnson people Novartis people 1960 births Living people American pharmaceutical industry businesspeople Directors of IBM Wharton School alumni United States Military Academy alumni American corporate directors 21st-century American businesspeople United States Army officers 20th-century American businesspeople American health care chief executives People from Fremont, Michigan Chief executives in the pharmaceutical industry Military personnel from Michigan Directors of Apple Inc. JPMorgan Chase people