Azita Saleki-Gerhardt

As AbbVie’s Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer, I lead a global team of scientific, manufacturing, engineering, quality, and supply chain professionals. We are responsible for supply and distribution of all AbbVie products, as well as several enterprise services, including facilities, purchasing and security. In addition, I am the chair of AbbVie’s executive crisis management team, where we prepare for and coordinate the company’s cross-functional response to ongoing issues. I began working for Abbott in 1993 starting as a research scientist. Since then, I have held leadership positions of increasing responsibility across a broad range of areas, including science and technology and quality assurance. In 2011, I assumed the role of President, Global Pharmaceutical Operations at Abbott.  Following AbbVie’s separation from Abbott in 2013, I was asked to lead Operations. Through my work in pharmaceutical sciences, I have been awarded several patents and I authored and published numerous articles in leading scientific journals. I enjoy being active in business and philanthropic communities, serving as a board member and chair of the governance and nomination committee for global specialty manufacturer Entegris and as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Boards for the School of International Studies and School of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At AbbVie, I am executive chair of the Women Leaders in Action employee resource group. I am also a recent alumna of the board of directors for United Way of Lake County. I earned my bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in pharmaceutics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Go Badgers!