Jean-Pierre Garnier

Jean-Pierre Garnier (born October 31, 1947, Le Mans, France) is a French scientist and business executive who oversaw the merger of two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, SmithKline Beecham PLC and Glaxo Wellcome PLC, serving as CEO (2000–08) of the resulting firm, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Garnier was the son of an advertising executive. He studied at Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France, where he earned a master’s degree in pharmaceutical science, followed by a Ph.D. in pharmacology in 1972. In 1974, as a Fulbright scholar at Stanford University, Garnier obtained a master’s degree in business administration.

He began his business career in 1975 at the pharmaceutical firm Schering-Plough Corp., holding various management positions in Europe before taking charge of marketing for the U.S. pharmaceutical products division in the 1980s. He became president of the firm’s U.S. operations in 1989. Garnier, known in the industry as J.P., was considered a calm, levelheaded, and highly disciplined executive. He was praised by many in the industry for his rare blend of experience and skills in the fields of both marketing and science.

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In 1990 Garnier made the move to SmithKline Beecham, a British-based pharmaceutical firm, where he was named president of the company’s North American business. He was elected to SmithKline Beecham’s board of directors in 1992 and was appointed chief operating officer of the company in 1995. In recognition of his accomplishments, Garnier was made a chevalier (knight) of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest civilian award, in 1997. (He was promoted to the rank of officer in 2007.) In 2000 Garnier became the chief executive officer (CEO) of SmithKline Beecham.

That year, when SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome, another British-based drug company, announced that they were merging, Garnier was chosen to lead the new company. As CEO of GSK, Garnier supervised the joining of the two huge and—in many respects—markedly different firms. Whereas Glaxo had focused primarily on selling prescription medicines, SmithKline had emphasized over-the-counter drugs and consumer health products. Throughout his tenure at GSK, Garnier was credited with improving the overall drug pipeline, or the drug’s path from conception to market. He was recognized for streamlining the company’s research and development business as well. These improvements resulted in the movement of more than 30 new products into late-stage development during his years at the company.

Under Garnier’s management, GSK became the first large drugmaker to offer AIDS drugs at cost to developing countries. Following a worldwide outbreak of bird flu beginning in 2003, Garnier met with U.S. Pres. George W. Bush in 2005 to discuss pandemic flu planning. That same year, GSK invested in flu vaccine development. In May 2008 Garnier left GSK.

Garnier subsequently served as CEO (2008–10) at Pierre Fabre, one of France’s largest pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies. In 2011 he became chairman of the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Actelion. He held that post until 2017, when the business was acquired by Johnson & Johnson, an American health care company. During his career, Garnier also served on the boards of various companies, notably Renault and United Technologies Corporation.

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