Albert Bourla

Current Company

Pfizer — Chairman & CEO

Leading Through the Pandemic

Albert Bourla became CEO of Pfizer in January 2019, just over a year before the COVID-19 pandemic would test his leadership in ways few corporate leaders have ever experienced. A veterinarian by training who was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece, Albert Bourla joined Pfizer in 1993 and spent 25 years in a range of leadership roles across the company’s animal health, oncology, and consumer healthcare divisions before being named CEO.

Albert Bourla’s decision to partner with BioNTech and pursue an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at unprecedented speed — and his choice to decline government funding through Operation Warp Speed to maintain full control over the timeline — defined his tenure and Pfizer’s place in pandemic history. Under Albert Bourla’s leadership, Pfizer delivered a vaccine in under a year, a process that typically takes a decade or more. The achievement made Albert Bourla one of the most recognized pharmaceutical executives in the world.