Alex Gorsky

Gorsky holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and spent six years in the U.S. Army, finishing his military career with the rank of captain.[1] He earned an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. Gorsky is Jewish.[2]

Gorsky began his career at Johnson & Johnson as a sales representative with Janssen Pharmaceutica in 1988. Over the next 15 years, he advanced through positions of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing, and management. In 2001, he was appointed president of Janssen, and in 2003, he was named Company Group Chairman of Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceuticals business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Gorsky is perhaps best known for his active involvement in the sale of the antipsychotic medication Risperdal, for which Johnson & Johnson later suffered multi-million dollar penalties in several US states. The Department of Justice noted that Gorsky “was actively involved” in the Risperdal fraud, which involved the illegal marketing of the medication to children and the elderly, despite FDA warnings.[3] Gorsky was also the architect of an illegal kickback scheme involving Risperdal and Omnicare, the largest supplier of pharmaceutical drugs to nursing homes.[4][5]

Gorsky left Johnson & Johnson in 2004 to join the Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, where he served as head of the company's pharmaceuticals business in North America.[1] He returned to Johnson & Johnson in 2008 as company group chairman for Ethicon Inc.. In September 2009, he was appointed worldwide chairman of the Medical Devices & Diagnostics segment. In January 2011, he was named vice chairman of Johnson & Johnson's executive committee. Gorsky became chief executive officer on April 26, 2012, and chairman on December 28, 2012.[6]

A longtime advocate of diversity and inclusion, Gorsky has been named one of the “100 Most Inspiring Leaders” by Pharma Voice. He is the Executive Sponsor of two Johnson & Johnson employee resource groups, the Women's Leadership Initiative and the Veteran's Leadership Council.[7] Gorsky is also a member of the Business Council and the Business Roundtable.

Gorsky is a member of the board of directors of IBM, the Congressional Medal of Honor board of directors, and the board of directors of the National Academy Foundation. In 2014 Gorsky was given the Joseph Wharton Leadership Award and the CADCA Humanitarian of the Year Award, as well as an Honorary Doctorate from Thomas Jefferson University.