Chris Viehbacher (born 1960) is a German-Canadian businessman.[1] [2] [3] He served as the Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi and Chairman of Genzyme until 29 October 2014.[1] [2] [3] Viehbacher then worked with Gurnet Point Capital, a healthcare venture capital and private equity fund backed by Ernesto Bertarelli and his family.[4] [5]
He joined Biogen as President and Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors in November 2022.[6]
Chris Viehbacher was born on March 26, 1960.[3] He graduated from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.[2] [3] He is a certified public accountant, and he speaks French, German and English.[7] [2] [3]
Viehbacher started his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.[7] [2] [3] In 1988, he joined GlaxoSmithKline, where he worked for the next twenty years, including in France for ten years.[7] [2] Until October 29, 2014, he served as CEO of Sanofi and Chairman of Genzyme.[2] [3] He was fired by unanimous decision of the board of directors in 2014.[8] In 2022, Viehbacher joined Biogen as President and Chief Executive Officer.
Viehbacher was Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America from December 2010 to April 2012.[1] [2] [3] He has been Chair of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer since February 2011.[2] [3] He is a member of The Business Roundtable and the International Business Council.[2] He sits on the Board of Directors of Research America and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.[1] He will serve as President of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations from June 2013 onwards.[1] [2]
In 2003, Viehbacher became a Knight in the Legion of Honour.[2] In 2012, he received the Pasteur Foundation Award.[2] He sits on the Northeastern University Board of Trustees and the Board of Visitors of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.[2]
Viehbacher is married and has three children.[3]