Andrew Witty Explained

Sir Andrew Witty
Birth Date:22 August 1964
Occupation:CEO, UnitedHealth Group
Predecessor:David Wichmann
Alma Mater:University of Nottingham
Spouse:Caroline M. Hall
Children:2

Sir Andrew Philip Witty (born 22 August 1964)[1] is a British business executive, who is the chief executive officer (CEO) of UnitedHealth Group. He was the CEO of GlaxoSmithKline between 2008 and 2017. He formerly held the role of chancellor of the University of Nottingham.[2]

Early life

Witty attended Malbank School (originally the "Nantwich and Acton Grammar School") in Nantwich, and then gained a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Nottingham.[1] [3]

Career

Witty joined Glaxo UK in 1985 as a management trainee.[4] He held various positions in the UK, including director of pharmacy & distribution in Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK.[5]

He was a vice president and general manager of marketing of Glaxo Wellcome Inc., a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline with responsibility for strategy development, marketing execution and new product positioning. He was an economic adviser to the governor of Guangzhou, China, from 2000 to 2002.[6]

He was appointed president, Pharmaceuticals Europe of GlaxoSmithKline plc in January 2003[6] and succeeded Jean-Pierre Garnier as CEO following his retirement in May 2008. He was paid an annual salary of and received bonuses and other compensation amounting to for this role.[7] [8]

In February 2009 he pledged to make a major change in the way GSK pharmaceuticals are priced, in an attempt to make vital drugs more affordable in countries with the lowest incomes. At the same time he announced that GSK would place certain patents in a pool so that they were freely available for others in the search for new drugs.[9]

From 2010 until 2015, Witty was on the business advisory board of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron.[10]

In October 2012 it was announced that he had been appointed the chancellor of the University of Nottingham with effect from 1 January 2013, having maintained strong ties with the university since graduation.[11] Witty announced his retirement from the role of chancellor in November 2017.[12]

In July 2013, the People's Republic of China announced that they were investigating allegations of fraud perpetrated by GSK going back to 2007 and involving thousands of millions of renminbi.[13] Witty stated "It appears that certain senior executives in the China business have acted outside our processes and controls to both defraud the company and the Chinese health care system. To see these allegations about people working for GSK is shameful. For me personally they are deeply disappointing."[14]

From 2013 to 2015, Witty was on the UNAIDS–Lancet Commission for Defeating AIDS and Advancing Global Health, co-chaired by Joyce Banda, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Peter Piot.[15] [16] From 2015 until 2016, he was a member of the UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, led by Ruth Dreifuss and Festus Mogae.[17]

In November 2015, Witty's leadership of GSK was criticised by Neil Woodford, who said that "he’s not doing a very good job". Woodford called for GSK to be split into four companies.[18] In March 2016, Witty announced that he was to step down as chief executive.[19]

From 2017 until 2018, Witty led the National Health Service’s Accelerated Access Collaborative.[20] [21]

In July 2018, Witty became CEO of Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group.[22] In November 2019, he was named president of UnitedHealth, in addition to his role as CEO of Optum.[23]

In April 2020, Witty took a one-year leave of absence from Optum to assist the World Health Organization in developing a vaccine for COVID-19.[24] In May 2020, he was appointed to the expert advisory group for the UK Government's Vaccine Task Force, chaired by Patrick Vallance.[25]

Witty became CEO of UnitedHealth Group in February 2021.[26]

In April 2021, he was also appointed to the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership (PPP), an expert group chaired by Vallance to advise the G7 presidency held by the government of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson.[27]

Corporate Membership

Corporate boards

Non-profit organizations

Recognition

Witty was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to the economy and the UK pharmaceutical industry. He was also conferred the Honorary Citizen of Singapore in 2018.[33]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Andrew. Davidson. The Andrew Davidson Interview: Andrew Witty. 26 July 2009. The Sunday Times. 11 December 2010. London.
  2. Web site: Chancellor . University of Nottingham . 13 January 2020.
  3. News: Robin. Pagnamenta. Business big shot: Andrew Witty. 12 January 2008. The Times. 11 December 2010. London.
  4. Web site: Andrew Witty's journey from Graduate to GSK CEO. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/FHkj9dJ6aNE. 2021-12-12 . live. 11 December 2010. 12 August 2008. GlaxoSmithKline.
  5. Web site: Andrew Witty profile. 11 December 2010. 15 January 2010. GlaxoSmithKline. https://web.archive.org/web/20101227123402/http://www.gsk.com/about/bio-witty-cet.htm. 27 December 2010. dead. dmy-all.
  6. Web site: GlaxoSmithKline appoints Andrew Witty CEO designate. 11 December 2010. 8 October 2007. GlaxoSmithKline. https://web.archive.org/web/20101227061710/http://www.gsk.com/media/pressreleases/2007/2007_10_08_GSK1128.htm. 27 December 2010. dead. dmy-all.
  7. News: Andrew Witty Profile at Forbes.com. 11 December 2010. 2009. Forbes. https://web.archive.org/web/20101127041918/http://people.forbes.com/profile/andrew-witty/37081. 27 November 2010. dead.
  8. Web site: Andrew Witty: Executive Profile & Biography at BusinessWeek. https://archive.today/20120712035548/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=3027345&ticker=GSK:US. dead. 12 July 2012. 11 December 2010. BusinessWeek.
  9. News: Sarah. Boseley. Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline pledges cheap medicine for world's poor. 13 February 2009. The Guardian. 11 December 2010. London.
  10. Elizabeth Rigby and Sarah Gordon (27 July 2015), David Cameron replaces his entire business advisory board Financial Times.
  11. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2012/october/newchancellor.aspx University of Nottingham appoints new Chancellor – The University of Nottingham
  12. News: Chancellor set to retire . University of Nottingham . 3 November 2017 . Cass, Liz . 13 January 2020.
  13. News: Kamal. Ahmed. GSK chief Andrew Witty set to admit China 'scam'. 19 July 2013. The Daily Telegraph. 9 January 2015. London.
  14. News: John-Paul. Rojas. GlaxoSmithKline boss Sir Andrew Witty:: UK headquarters 'knew nothing' of China fraud. 24 July 2013. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/glaxosmithklineboss-sir-andrew-witty-uk-headquarters-knew-nothing-of-china-fraud-8730455.html . 7 May 2022 . subscription . live. The Independent. 9 January 2015. London.
  15. http://files.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/pressrelease/2013/05/20130526_PR_UNAIDS_LancetCommission.pdf New UNAIDS and Lancet Commission to explore HIV and global health in the Post-2015 debate
  16. https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2013/july/20130701prcommission UNAIDS and Lancet Commission address strategic challenges for the future of AIDS and global health
  17. http://www.unsgaccessmeds.org/news-blogs/2016/9/13/united-nations-secretary-generals-high-level-panel-on-access-to-medicines-calls-for-new-deal-to-close-the-health-innovation-and-access-gap United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines Calls For New Deal to Close the Health Innovation and Access Gap
  18. Web site: Romeo . Valentina . Neil Woodford launches fresh attack on GlaxoSmithKline - Money Marketing Money Marketing . Moneymarketing.co.uk . 16 January 2017.
  19. Web site: GlaxoSmithKline chief Sir Andrew Witty to step down - BBC News . Bbc.co.uk . 16 January 2017.
  20. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/accelerated-access-scheme-means-patients-will-get-new-treatments-faster Accelerated access scheme means patients will get new treatments faster
  21. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-chair-appointed-to-improve-patient-access-to-innovation-in-the-nhs New chair appointed to improve patient access to innovation in the NHS
  22. Web site: UnitedHealth names former GSK CEO Andrew Witty as Optum head. reuters. 23 July 2018.
  23. Web site: UnitedHealth Group names Optum CEO as president. 2020-06-08. Star Tribune.
  24. News: Bruce Japsen. April 15, 2020. Optum CEO Witty To Take Leave To Join WHO's COVID-19 Vaccine Effort. Forbes. April 15, 2020.
  25. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-and-manufacturing-boost-for-uk-vaccine-programme Funding and manufacturing boost for UK vaccine programme
  26. News: UnitedHealth Group CEO steps down, Optum Chief takes over. 4 February 2021. Star Tribune. 5 February 2021.
  27. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-global-partnership-launched-to-fight-future-pandemics New global partnership launched to fight future pandemics
  28. http://investor.g1therapeutics.com/news-releases/news-release-details/g1-therapeutics-appoints-sir-andrew-witty-board-directors/ G1 Therapeutics Appoints Sir Andrew Witty to Board of Directors
  29. https://www.synthego.com/press/sir-andrew-witty-former-ceo-of-gsk-joins-synthego-advisory-board Sir Andrew Witty, Former CEO of GSK, Joins Synthego Advisory Board
  30. http://hatterasvp.com/people/sir-andrew-witty/ Andrew Witty
  31. Michael Mills (18 June 2020), WHO COVID-19 vaccine co-lead appointed to head Business School Advisory Board Imperial College Business School.
  32. https://dihi.org/about-dihi Global Advisory Board
  33. Web site: Singapore Confers Honorary Citizen Award on Sir Andrew Witty. 26 June 2018.

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