Alex M. Azar II Makes Strategic Move to Lead Lilly USA Business-to-Business Organization and Oversee Sales and Marketing in Puerto Rico
Jack Bailey’s Leadership Role Expands to Include Lilly USA Diabetes Business Unit
INDIANAPOLIS, March 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eli Lilly and Company today announced that Alex M. Azar II, currently senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications, will assume the top leadership role in Lilly’s U.S. Business-to-Business organization. As vice president of Business-to-Business and Puerto Rico, Azar will oversee the company’s public payer, managed care and wholesaler operations in the United States as well as oversee Lilly’s sales and marketing operations in Puerto Rico.
“Lilly has been focusing for some time on advancing our understanding of and addressing, in more meaningful ways, the needs of our public and private payer customers. Given the current and unprecedented political forces on the U.S. healthcare system, this move will enable us to bring a more exclusive focus on these vital customers,” said John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Alex’s strong political and healthcare background and expertise will enable us to further build the strength of the organization at a critical time for both Lilly and the industry. Additionally, this move creates a tremendous opportunity for one of our most qualified and strongest leaders to build front-line business experience at the company’s largest affiliate.”
In a related move, Jack Bailey, U.S. senior vice president of account-based markets, will broaden his leadership responsibilities to include oversight of the U.S. diabetes business unit. This adds to his current responsibilities for Lilly USA’s oncology and cardiovascular teams, as well as the Lilly Hospital Group. Bailey’s move combines several key aspects of the business and creates therapeutic alignment across Lilly’s organization, from drug discovery to new product development to commercialization.
“It was Jack’s vision and leadership over the last eight years that drove the successful modernization of Lilly’s Business-to-Business operations in the United States,” said Lechleiter. “I am pleased that he will now have the opportunity to apply his knowledge and strong track record of performance more broadly across Lilly USA’s therapeutic portfolio.”
Azar joined Lilly in 2007 and, during his tenure leading Lilly’s corporate affairs function, helped position Lilly as a leading advocate of public policies that support biopharmaceuticals and advocated for healthcare reform that would improve efficiency, choice, and access for patients.
Before joining the company, Azar served as the United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2005 to 2007, where he worked closely with Secretary Mike Leavitt and served for almost two years as the chief operating officer of the largest civilian department in the federal government. In this role, he oversaw all operations of the HHS, including the regulation of food and drugs, Medicare, Medicaid, medical research, public health, welfare, child and family services, disease prevention, Indian health, mental health services, emergency preparedness and response, and many other activities. Agencies under his direction included, among others, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prior to his tenure as Deputy Secretary, Azar served for four years as the General Counsel of the HHS. Before entering government service, he was a partner at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Wiley, Rein & Fielding. Azar also clerked at the Supreme Court of the United States for Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. Azar is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Yale Law School.
Lilly expects to announce soon a new leader for the company’s global corporate affairs and communications organization. “Alex advanced our corporate affairs objectives and achievements significantly during his tenure in the role,” said Lechleiter, “and filling this important leadership position with a worthy successor remains a top priority for Lilly.”
Bailey joined Lilly in 1991. During his 18-year tenure at the company, he has held positions in sales and marketing and business development. In 1998, he assumed the role of general manager for Lilly’s affiliate in South Africa and also directed regional sales operations across Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2001, he returned to the U.S. to lead Lilly’s Business-to-Business organization. Bailey holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and genetics from Hobart College and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina.
Azar and Bailey will fully assume their new responsibilities on April 1.
About Lilly
Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers - through medicines and information - for some of the world’s most urgent medical needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com. C-LLY
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