Karen Katen

Last updated
Karen Katen
Born1948
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Alma mater University of Chicago
OccupationPharmaceutical executive

Karen L. Katen (born 1948) is an American pharmaceutical executive who spent most of her career with Pfizer, eventually serving as Vice Chairman of the company and President of its pharmaceuticals division. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Katen was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1948. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1970 and a Master of Business Administration in 1974, both from the University of Chicago. [2]

Career

Katen joined Pfizer in 1974 and steadily rose through the ranks, becoming President of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in 1995. [3] Under her leadership, Pfizer launched several major products, including Lipitor and Viagra. [2] During this period, Pfizer’s U.S. Pharmaceuticals Group achieved record financial performance each year, with revenues surpassing US$9.2 billion in 1999. Following Pfizer’s acquisition of Warner–Lambert, Katen managed what was then the largest integration in the history of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. [2]

In the early 2000s, Katen was considered one of three Vice Chairmen likely to succeed CEO Henry "Hank" McKinnell Jr. upon his retirement. [4] However, in 2006, Jeffrey Kindler was appointed CEO, and Katen subsequently left the company.

Since leaving Pfizer, Katen has served on multiple boards of directors, including those of The Home Depot, Air Liquide, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. She has also been involved with several charitable organizations. [2]

Awards and recognition

References

  1. ↑ "EW Healthcare Partners Team - Karen Katen". EW Healthcare Partners. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Karen L. Katen, AB '70, MBA '74". Chicago Booth. June 1, 2000. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  3. ↑ "Karen L. Katen". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  4. ↑ "Inside Pfizer's palace coup". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  5. ↑ "Karen Katen 1948— Biography - College and early professional direction, A solid record of achievement". Reference for Business. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  6. ↑ "1990 WOTY Karen Katen—Setting the stage for inspiring stories and innovation". Healthcare Businesswomen's Association. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.