Thanks to our speakers, panelists, partner organizations and the attendees for making the 2008 Massachusetts Biz/Bio Event a success!
John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D, was named president and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company in April 2008. He was named president and chief operating officer in 2005, when he also joined the company’s board of directors. Starting in January 2004, he had served as executive vice president, pharmaceutical operations. Prior to that, he had been executive vice president for pharmaceutical products and corporate development since 2001. Lechleiter chairs the company’s operations committee, as well as its executive committee.
Lechleiter received a bachelor of science degree summa cum laude in chemistry from Xavier University (Cincinnati, Ohio) in 1975. He studied organic chemistry as a National Science Foundation Fellow at Harvard University, where he received his master’s and doctorate degrees. In 2006, Lechleiter received an honorary doctorate of business administration from Marian College of Indianapolis.
Joining Lilly in 1979 as a senior organic chemist in process research and development, Lechleiter became head of that department in 1982. In 1984, he began serving as director of pharmaceutical product development for the Lilly Research Centre Limited in Windlesham, England.
He returned to the United States in 1986 as manager of research and development projects for Europe. In 1988, he became director of development projects management, and in 1989 he assumed additional responsibility for pharmaceutical regulatory affairs. In 1991, he was named executive director of pharmaceutical product development, and in 1993, he became vice president. He was appointed vice president of regulatory affairs in 1994. In 1996, he was named vice president for development and regulatory affairs. Lechleiter became senior vice president of pharmaceutical products in 1998.
Lechleiter is a member of the American Chemical Society. In 2004, he was appointed to the Visiting Committee of Harvard Business School and to the Health Policy and Management Executive Council of the Harvard School of Public Health. He also serves as a member of the board of trustees of Xavier University (Cincinnati, Ohio). In addition, he is a distinguished advisor of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, a member of the board of directors and executive committee of Fairbanks Institute, and a member of the United Way of Central Indiana board of directors. He also serves on the board of Indianapolis Downtown, Inc.
