Alex Gorsky (born 1960) is an American businessman and the executive chairman of

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

. He is the seventh person who served as chair and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson since it became a publicly traded company in 1944. Gorsky stepped down as CEO at Johnson & Johnson in January 2022 and was succeeded by Joaquin Duato.

Early life and education

Gorsky's grandparents immigrated to the United States from Russia and Croatia. Gorsky was born the third of six children of Albert and Loretta (née Bartolac) Gorsky in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of the ...

. When he was 12, his family moved to

Fremont, Michigan Fremont is a city in Newaygo County, Michigan, United States. The population was 4,516 at the time of the 2020 census. History The first inhabitants of the Fremont area were Native Americans. A group of settlers led by Daniel Weaver first se ...

, where his father, a Korean War 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 The American Legion Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Girls State are summer leadership and citizenship programs for high school juniors, which focus on exploring the mechanics of American government and politics. The programs are sponsor ...

, Gorsky was chosen to represent Michigan at the Boy's Nation national conference. In the same year, Congressman Guy Vander Jagt 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 The Swedish Army Ranger School ( sv, Arméns jägarskola, JS) was a Swedish Army ranger unit which was active in various forms between 1910 and 1975. The unit was based in Kiruna, Lapland. History The Army Ranger School has its origins in the ...

where he earned a

Ranger Tab In the United States Army, tabs are cloth and/or metal arches displaying a word or words signifying a special skill that are worn on U.S. Army uniforms. On the Army Combat Uniform and Army Service Uniform, the tabs are worn above a unit's Should ...

. 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; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from The Wharton School at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

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 Risperidone, sold under the brand name Risperdal among others, is an atypical antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It is taken either by mouth or by injection (subcutaneous or intramuscular). The injectable versions ...

. 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 Omnicare is an American company working in the health care industry. It was established in April 1981 as a spinoff of healthcare businesses from Chemed and W. R. Grace and Company. It is currently a pharmacy specializing in nursing homes. In 201 ...

, a company that provided drug services to nursing homes.

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 and other franchises.

Johnson & Johnson

Gorsky returned to Johnson & Johnson in 2008 when he was appointed Company Group Chairman for

Ethicon, Inc. Ethicon, Inc. is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. It was incorporated as a separate company under the Johnson & Johnson umbrella in 1949 to expand and diversify the Johnson & Johnson product line. Ethicon has manufactured surgical sutures a ...

In September 2009, he was promoted to Worldwide Chairman, Medical Devices & Diagnostics. Then-CEO

William C. Weldon William C. Weldon (born November 26, 1948) is a former chairman of Johnson & Johnson, He was the eighth chairman in Johnson & Johnson's history of more than one hundred years. Early life and education He was born in Brooklyn, New York. His paren ...

chose Gorsky to be Vice Chairman in the Office of the Chairman. On April 26, 2012, Gorsky was appointed

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. On December 28, 2012, Gorsky was appointed Chairman of the Board. 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 Published by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, ''New Jersey Business'' magazine features editorials that spotlight businesses and covers state legislative issues affecting businesses in New Jersey. Published since 1954, it is the ...

'' 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 The Business Council is an organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C.Business Roundtable The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major United States companies. Unlike the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, BRT ...

Corporate Governance Committee. Since 2014, Gorsky has been on the Board of Directors at IBM. Gorsky is a board member at Apple, Inc.,

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...

, and the

National Academy Foundation NAF (formerly known as National Academy Foundation) is an industry-sponsored nonprofit with a national network of public-private partnerships that support career academies within traditional high schools. Each academy focuses on a theme that addre ...

. Heis 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 The American Manufacturing Council was a group of prominent chief executives set up to advise U.S. President Donald Trump on domestic manufacturing initiatives. It was chaired by Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow Chemical Company. Following the withdra ...

, 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 cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

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 The Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) was founded in 1977 as a global non-profit organization with the purpose of furthering the advancement of women in healthcare worldwide. It is currently headquartered in New Jersey, US and as of 2 ...

in 2009 *

Joseph Wharton Joseph Wharton (March 3, 1826 – January 11, 1909) was an American industrialist. He was involved in mining, manufacturing and education. He founded the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, co-founded the Bethlehem Steel compa ...

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 in 2018 * Diversity Inc. Global Inclusive Leaders Award in 2018 * Honorary Doctorate from

Ferris State University Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan. It was founded in 1884 and became a public institution in 1950. Ferris is the ninth-largest institutions of higher education by enroll ...

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 business school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Administration (MBA), MBA for Executives ...

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 Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry Directors of IBM Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania 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.