Jennifer Taubert needs no introduction in the field of healthcare. Named as one of Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women the last three years running, she was recently promoted to the role of Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman of Pharmaceuticals for Johnson & Johnson.
Prior to her promotion in July 2018, Taubert served as Company Group Chairman of Pharmaceuticals, the Americas, from April 2015 and prior to that, was Group Chairman of Pharmaceuticals, North America, since 2012. During that time, she was responsible for more than 30 percent of Johnson & Johnsons’ $72 billion in pharmaceutical revenue.
Within her role, she oversaw the healthcare giant’s drug division Janssen for the North American and Latin America markets. She successfully brought important new medicines to the market that made patients’ lives better – especially those diagnosed with cancer, immune-related diseases, heart disease and diabetes, infectious diseases including HIV and serious mental illness.
Under Taubert’s direction, Janssen put together a portfolio that includes nine new break-out therapies and led the organization into becoming one of the largest and fastest-growing drug companies in the world. She is a member of the corporation’s management committee and the Pharmaceuticals Group operating committee and has played an integral role in shaping the company’s global strategy for the future.
“Part of the fun of working in healthcare is the next discovery is literally around the next corner. Our work is never done, and that keeps it exciting,” Taubert said in an interview. “In terms of the future, I really want to see us continue to make key partnerships throughout the healthcare system, so we can work together to better understand patient behavior and truly deliver better health outcomes.”
Taubert is also recognized as a champion for diversity and inclusion. Most notably, she recruited several women into management roles including three business presidents, a chief scientific officer, a chief financial officer, chief strategic customer officer, information technology lead, and HR head. In total, approximately two-thirds of the company’s highest-ranking roles are occupied by women and people of color.
Of the organization’s commitment to women in the workforce, she shared: “Women have been at the heart of Johnson & Johnson from the very beginning – eight of the company’s first 14 employees were women, and it hired its first female scientist in 1908.”
Taubert received her Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master’s of Business Administration from the Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles. Before joining Johnson and Johnson, she spent eighteen years working her way up through the ranks at Merck and Allergan.
