Albert Bourla

Albert Bourla (Άλμπερτ Μπουρλά; born October 21, 1961) is a Greek-American veterinarian and businessman known for serving as the chairman and chief executive officer of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. He joined the company in 1993 and has held several executive roles across Pfizer's divisions. Prior to becoming chief executive officer, Bourla was chief operating officer.

In addition to the boards of Pfizer and the Pfizer Foundation, Bourla is or has been on the boards of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Catalyst, the Partnership for New York City, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. he is also a member of The Business Council and the Business Roundtable.

Bourla reshaped Pfizer to focus on research and development. He is also credited with helping the development of Improvac, which eradicates boar taint, and for refocusing Pfizer's vaccine division to focus on Staphylococcus, Clostridioides difficile infection, infant diseases, and the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Bourla opposes government interference in pharmaceutical pricing, which he argues would hamper spending on development of new drugs.

Bourla was awarded the 2022 Genesis Prize for his leadership in the development of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

Early life and education
Bourla was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece. His parents, who were Sephardi Jews, were among the 2,000 of 50,000 Jews in Thessaloniki to survive the Holocaust; According to Bourla, his mother was allegedly minutes away from execution by firing squad when she was spared via a ransom paid to a Nazi Party official by her non-Jewish brother-in-law, while his father happened to be out of the Jewish ghetto when the residents were taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp and went into hiding, never to see his parents again.

Bourla earned a doctorate in the biotechnology of reproduction at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki's Veterinary School in 1985. Bourla's doctoral thesis (1991) is titled "Effect of melatonin implants on sperm characteristics and on the freezability of Karagouniki ram semen".

He left Greece with his wife when he was 34 after a promotion within Pfizer and since then he has lived in seven different cities, in four different countries.

Career
Bourla joined Pfizer in 1993, first as a doctor of veterinary medicine and technical director for the company's animal health division in Greece. In 2001, he immigrated to the United States.

Bourla held multiple executive roles at Zoetis (then known as Animal Health) and other divisions of Pfizer. From 2005 to 2009, he was area president for Animal Health's Europe, Africa and Middle East division. In 2009, he promoted the launch of Improvac on the European Market. Improvac is an immunocastration product for male pigs with the goal to reduce boar taint. In 2009 and 2010, he oversaw the Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific division. In the latter role, he managed the merger of Wyeth's Fort Dodge Animal Health business with Pfizer in these regions.

From 2010 to 2013, Bourla was president and general manager of Pfizer's Established Products Business Unit. There, he built business for the company's drugs that had recently lost patent exclusivity.

From January 2014 to January 2016, Bourla was Group President of Pfizer's Global Vaccines, Oncology, and Consumer Healthcare business,  where he led Pfizer's work on cancer and heart drugs, among others, and helped launch Eliquis, an anticoagulant, and Ibrance, a breast cancer treatment drug.

From February 2016 to December 2017, he was group president of Pfizer Innovative Health. In 2016, during his tenure, Innovative Health's revenue increased by 11%.

Bourla became Pfizer's chief operating officer (COO) on January 1, 2018, overseeing the company's drug development, manufacturing, sales, and strategy. He restructured Pfizer and spun-off the consumer health care business during his tenure as COO.

He was promoted to chief executive officer in October 2018, effective January 1, 2019, succeeding Ian Read, his mentor.

In February 2019, Bourla was one of seven CEOs in the pharmaceutical industry who participated in a hearing on prescription drug prices in the United States with the United States Senate Committee on Finance.

In January 2020, Bourla assumed the additional post of executive chairman, upon the retirement of Ian Read.

In 2020, Bourla pushed Pfizer employees for the fast development of a COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with German company BioNTech, making sure it is safe and effective. He told his team that "financial returns should not drive any decisions" with regards to the vaccine. He took the risk of producing the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine before approval from the Food and Drug Administration so that it would be ready to ship immediately upon approval. However his strategy of pricing during the pandemic has been called "war profiteering" by former CDC chief Tom Frieden.

Following an interview with the BBC in December 2021 in which Bourla praised vaccination of children, the British Medical ethics Authority determined that Pfizer violated the ethical code by misleading the public, making unsubstantiated claims, and by failing to present information in a factual and balanced way.

Other activities
Bourla has been on the Health Section Governing board of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, the largest biotechnology trade association worldwide. He joined Pfizer's board of directors in February 2018, and also is on the board of the Pfizer Foundation. Bourla is a board member of Catalyst, a global nonprofit organization promoting the advancement of women, the Partnership for New York City, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade association representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry in the United States.

Bourla is a member of The Business Council, an organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C., and the Business Roundtable, a group of chief executives of major U.S. corporations established to promote pro-business public policy.

Recognition
In April 2019, at the Prix Galien Greece Awards ceremony, Bourla was presented with the award for "Preeminent Greek Leader" of the global pharmaceutical industry by Geoffrey R. Pyatt, United States Ambassador to Greece.

In 2020, Bourla was ranked as America's top CEO in the pharmaceutical industry by Institutional Investor.

In 2021, Bourla was named by Carnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Award.

In January 2022, Bourla was awarded the $1 million Genesis Prize for his leadership in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Genesis Prize is awarded annually to an individual for professional achievement, contributions to humanity and commitment to Jewish ethics.

In May 2024, Bourla was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in honor of President William Ruto at the White House.

Personal life
Bourla and his wife live in Scarsdale, New York. He has two children: a daughter and a son. Bourla received $21 million in compensation from Pfizer in 2020.

Bourla maintains a home in Chalkidiki, which he visits every summer. He is a supporter of the Aris Thessaloniki sports club. To benefit Greece, he has organized vaccine donations, medical aid for refugees, and more than $1 million in medicine to help uninsured patients. He established the Pfizer Artificial Intelligence Center in his hometown, directed Pfizer's participation in the Thessaloniki International Fair, is close friends with Geoffrey R. Pyatt, United States Ambassador to Greece, and brought Pfizer's leadership team to Greece to meet with Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

After Bourla was awarded the Genesis Prize by Israeli President Isaac Herzog for his leadership in delivering the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, he directed the $1 million prize to Holocaust education and the Holocaust Museum of Greece to be built in Thessaloniki. Bourla also earned a 2022 Double Helix Medal "for spearheading the rapid development of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine".

Bourla has made political contributions to both Republicans and Democrats, particularly those who oppose controls on prescription drug prices in the United States.