Albert Bourla

The year got off to a good start for Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer. In January, the pharmaceutical giant avoided a proxy fight with activist investor Starboard Value partly by making a key hire to advance Pfizer’s oncology drug development. (Starboard had pushed for this direction, in the wake of declining revenue from vaccines.) The market welcomed that news with a slight uptick in Pfizer’s shares. Still, Bourla has otherwise seen a rocky year for the company, following a weight loss drug failure and slowing sales in some areas. But no one is counting Pfizer out: It has reported promising developments in its drug pipeline around several cancer therapies and a potential RSV vaccine. And Bourla remains an influential voice in the industry, as chair of the pharma lobby group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Lately, he has been a leading voice calling for more spending on innovative medicines. He recently suggested that the U.S. and its allies develop a NATO-like coalition focused on drug development.