And here we are. Everything can be done. A Greek from humble beginnings made it all the way to the top. Actually, when our board called me into the boardroom to announce to me that they elected me as the CEO, the comment that I made was “Only in America,” because, really, this is the place that you can really make it to the top irrelevant [of] what are your beginnings.
Everything can be done. A Greek from humble beginnings made it all the way to the top… [the United States] is the place that you can really make it to the top irrelevant [of] what are your beginnings.
ALBERT BOURLA, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, PFIZER
FREDERICK KEMPE: You’ve seen, in these twenty-seven, twenty-eight years at Pfizer, the company evolve. You’ve seen the science evolve. What were the most crucial factors that both prepared the science and Pfizer for this moment in history and this vaccine development?
ALBERT BOURLA: Yes. I think Pfizer had tremendous success in the 1990s and the beginning of 2000s with science, but then it was a period that was not that productive. When my predecessor took over approximately twelve years ago [at the end of] 2010 and beginning of 2011, he found a company that needed really to make serious changes in the way that research and development is conducted, and they did.
He drove significant changes. We focused our research. Before, we were spread thin in thirteen different therapeutic areas and, you know, when you are spread thin in thirteen therapeutic areas, usually you’re not very good in any. You are mediocre in all. We reduced that to six therapeutic areas, and we were able to become the best in each one of them.
