William Pao, M.D., Ph.D., is Chief Development Officer and Executive Vice President for Pfizer. He leads the Global Product Development organization, overseeing the clinical development of Pfizer’s pipeline of innovative medicines in inflammation and immunology, internal medicine, hospital, oncology, rare disease, and vaccines, as well as regulatory affairs in support of Pfizer’s pipeline and marketed medicines and vaccines.
Prior to joining Pfizer in 2022, William was the Head of Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED). Before Roche, he simultaneously held key positions of Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Vanderbilt University, and Director of Personalized Cancer Medicine at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
William is recognized for his groundbreaking work in translational medicine, mechanistic and clinical studies of targeted cancer therapeutics, and leadership in cancer genomics and personalized medicine.
He is co-chair of the Executive Committee of the NIH Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) and serves on the Boards of TransCelerate and the American Association for Cancer Research. He was inducted to the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2011 and the Association of American Physicians in 2017.
William received his undergraduate degree from Harvard, and his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University.
