CEO Today Top 50 – David A. Ricks

Name: David A. Ricks

Net worth: Approx. $232 million Executive pay: $26.5 million

Company: Eli Lilly

Bio: Dave Ricks is chair and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company. A Lilly veteran for more than 25 years, with experience in marketing, sales, drug development and international operations, Dave became CEO in January 2017 and was elected chair of the company’s board of directors effective June 2017.

Dave joined Lilly in 1996 as a business development associate and held several management roles in U.S. marketing and sales before moving into international leadership positions. He led Lilly’s operations as general manager in Canada and China – one of the world’s fastest-growing emerging markets – and then returned as president of Lilly USA, the company’s largest affiliate. In 2012, Dave was promoted to president of Lilly Bio-Medicines, then the company’s largest business unit, overseeing drug development and commercial operations in neuroscience, pain and immunology.

Dave serves on the board of directors for Adobe and Business Roundtable. In addition, he is a member of the board and former board chair of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Dave is a member of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Association’s CEO Steering Committee, The Business Council and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Council for Inclusive Innovation.

Closer to home, Dave is heavily engaged in the development and well-being of Central Indiana and serves on the executive committee and board of Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.

Quote: “I think a bet on Lilly is to bet we can keep on inventing new things, not just sell the ones we’ve invented.” – David A. Ricks