Sidney Taurel (born February 9, 1949) is a Spanish-born American businessman. He is the chairman of Pearson plc and chairman emeritus of

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company, Trade name, doing business as Lilly, is an American multinational Medication, pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 count ...

, where he had a 37-year career and served as chairman and chief executive officer from 1998 to 2008. He became chairman of Pearson in January 2016. He is currently a director of

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 ...

and advises Almirall S.A. on corporate strategy.

Early life and education

Taurel was born a Spanish national in

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco, also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco that lasted from 1912 to 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the ...

, on February 9, 1949. He he received his primary and secondary education in Casablanca. In 1969, he graduated from École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Paris. In 1971, he received an

MBA 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 a ...

from

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and one of ...

. He later received a doctorate in human letters honoris causa from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Career

In 1971, Taurel joined

's subsidiary Eli Lilly International Corporation as a marketing associate. After sales and marketing assignments in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, he became general manager of the company's affiliate in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in 1981 and was appointed to the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based position of vice president of Lilly European operations in 1983. He was named executive vice president of Eli Lilly and Company and president of its pharmaceutical division in 1993. Three years later, he was promoted to president and chief operating officer. As chairman and CEO from 1998 to 2008, Taurel led the company's efforts to successfully tackle the challenge of the patent loss of its main product Prozac while remaining independent; he drove a deeper globalization of the company, significantly increased its commitment to research and development and partnering, and oversaw the successful launches of a dozen new products, roughly doubling the company's sales. He spoke often on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry, serving as chairman of

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA, pronounced ), formerly known as the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, is an American trade group representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry. Founded in 1958, PhRMA ...

from 1998 to 1999.

Accolades

A U.S. citizen since 1995, Sidney received the 2000

Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...

Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations. Also in 2001, the Anti-Defamation League honored Taurel with its American Heritage Award. In 2002, was named by U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

as a Homeland Security Advisory Council member. In 2003, Bush named Taurel a member of the President's Export Council. In April 2007, he was appointed to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations by President Bush. He is an officer of the French Legion of Honor. Taurel is a past president of the

(PhRMA). He is a member of

The Business Council The Business Council is a nonpartisan organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C.Business Roundtable, as well as of the boards of ITT Industries,

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

Companies, and the RCA Tennis Championships. He is also a member of the board of overseers of

and a trustee at Indianapolis Museum of Art. In October 2015, Taurel was appointed as chairman of Pearson plc, the British multinational publishing and education company headquartered in London.

Personal life

In 1977, Taurel married Kathryn H Fleischmann from

, Brazil. They had three children, Alex (born in Paris in 1979), Patrick (born in 1982 in São Paulo), and Olivia (born in 1988 in Indianapolis). They became American citizens in 1995. His wife Kathryn died in 2014.

References

External links

''Frontline'' interview with Taurel June 19, 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taurel, Sidney 1949 births Living people American chief operating officers American health care chief executives American people of Spanish descent Businesspeople from Casablanca Businesspeople from Indianapolis American pharmaceutical industry businesspeople Columbia Business School alumni HEC Paris alumni IBM people Pearson plc people Presidents of Eli Lilly and Company