Alex Philippidis Senior News Editor Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

Who are the highest-paid females in the industry this year?

Following is a list of 20 women executives holding top positions with biotech or pharmaceutical companies for at least part of 2012, ranked by their “total compensation” last year. Total compensation goes beyond salary to include bonuses, stock awards, stock option awards, nonequity incentive plan compensation, and all other sources of compensation. For each woman ranked, the list offers 2012 and 2011 compensation, the percentage change between the amounts, and their position (if ranked) on last year’s top paid women in biopharma list, published by GEN on July 31, 2012.

The salaries for the women executives ranked on this list trail significantly the pay levels seen in the CEO list, but only in part because this list includes many women in executive positions below CEO. The four women CEOs on this list—Heather Bresch of Mylan, Martine Rothblatt of United Therapeutics, Michelle Dipp, M.D., Ph.D., of OvaScience, and Robin Smith of NeoStem—all received less in compensation than every one of the top 15 CEOs appearing on GEN’s list of top biopharma CEOs ranked by pay.

As with GEN’s recent CEO compensation list, this list shows the continuing leveling of the industry between traditional “big” pharma and biotech. Six of the top 10 women executives on this list work at pharmas; the rest, at biotechs. However, positions 11–20 on the list were filled entirely by biotech executives, which reflects another reality: that pharmas are still transitioning from years of their executive ranks being dominated by men.

Another result of note: Of the 20 women on this list, 10 held positions at the executive or senior vice presidential level, and seven of those had responsibilities that included that of general counsel. One woman was a chief medical officer, and another a chief commercial officer.

#20. Mary Sontrop

Company: CSL

Title: EVP, Operations

2012 Compensation: $1,414,920 (A$ 1,589,344)1

2011 Compensation: $1,190,883 (A$ 1,337,883)1

% Change: 18.8%

#19. Robin Smith

Company: NeoStem

Title: CEO

2012 Compensation: $1,643,403

2011 Compensation: $3,647,772

% Change: -54.9%

#18. Maria E. Cantor

Company: Ariad Pharmaceuticals

Title: SVP, Corporate Affairs

2012 Compensation: $1,697,5602

2011 Compensation: N/A2

% Change: N/A2

#17. Kathryn L. Biberstein

Company: Alkermes

Title: SVP, General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer

Year Ending March 31, 2013 Compensation: $2,113,308

Year Ending March 31, 2012 Compensation: $1,949,493

% Change: 8.4%

#16. Anne Marie Cook

Company: Aegerion Pharmaceuticals

Title: SVP, General Counsel and Secretary

2012 Compensation: $2,258,032

2011 Compensation: N/A3

% Change: N/A3

#15. Suzanne M. Shema, J.D.

Company: Onyx Pharmaceuticals

Title: EVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

2012 Compensation: $2,724,077

2011 Compensation: $1,882,070

% Change: 44.7%

#14. Cheryl L. Cohen

Company: Medivation

Title: Chief Commercial Officer

2012 Compensation: $2,880,757

2011 Compensation: $3,554,5194

% Change: -19.0%

#13. Lynn Seely, M.D.

Company: Medivation

Title: CMO

2012 Compensation: $3,058,474

2011 Compensation: $2,579,028

% Change: 18.6%

#12. Michelle Dipp, M.D., Ph.D.

Company: OvaScience

Title: CEO

2012 Compensation: $3,442,618

2011 Compensation: $1,4205

% Change: N/A5

#11. Jane Wasman, J.D.

Company: Acorda Therapeutics

Title: President, International General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

2012 Compensation: $3,448,808

2011 Compensation: $1,645,473

% Change: 109.6%

#10. Jacqualyn A. Fouse, Ph.D.

Company: Celgene

Title: EVP and CFO

2012 Compensation: $3,450,103

2011 Compensation: $2,535,033

% Change: 36.1%

#9. Robin L. Washington

Company: Gilead Sciences

Title: SVP and CFO

2012 Compensation: $4,175,593

2011 Compensation: $4,032,193

% Change: 3.6%

#8. Sandra Peterson

Company: Johnson & Johnson

Title: Group Worldwide Chair

2012 Compensation: $4,698,8506

2011 Compensation: N/A6

% Change: N/A6

#7. Silvia Ayyoubi

Company: Roche

Title: Head, Group Human Resources

2012 Compensation: $5,346,932 (CHF 4,970,897)1

2011 Compensation: $4,342,348 (CHF 4,037,074)1,7

% Change: 23.1%

#6. Amy W. Schulman

Company: Pfizer

Title: EVP and General Counsel; Business Unit Lead, Consumer Healthcare

2012 Compensation: $5,573,218

2011 Compensation: $5,764,662

% Change: -3.3%

#5. Sandra Leung

Company: Bristol-Myers Squibb

Title: General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

2012 Compensation: $5,892,772

2011 Compensation: $5,491,673

% Change: 7.3%

#4. Martine Rothblatt

Company: United Therapeutics

Title: CEO

2012 Compensation: $7,958,328

2011 Compensation: $3,161,350

% Change: 151.7%

#3. Heather Bresch

Company: Mylan

Title: CEO

2012 Compensation: $8,000,628

2011 Compensation: $9,208,0348

% Change: -13.1%

#2. Beatrice Cazala

Company: Bristol-Myers Squibb

Title: EVP, Commercial Operations

2012 Compensation: $8,031,025

2011 Compensation: $5,941,1679

% Change: 35.2%

#1. Laura J. Schumacher

Company: AbbVie

Title: EVP, Business Development, External Affairs and General Counsel

2012 Compensation: $10,192,74810

2011 Compensation: $5,567,49310

% Change: 83.1%

Notes:
1 Figures converted to U.S. Dollars via www.xe.com on August 2, 2013.
2 Served in current position since January 2012. Previously served as VP, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, a position she had held since July 2008, when she joined the company from Genzyme.
3 Joined company in December 2011.
4 Joined company in September 2011.
5 Dr. Dipp received no compensation in 2011, but did receive 701,927 shares of common stock in April 2011 in connection with her role as a founder of our company, for an aggregate purchase price of $1,420.
6 Joined Johnson & Johnson on December 1, 2012.
7 Figure varies from dollar amount reported last year, $4,035,692, due to currency fluctuation.
8 CEO appointment took effect January 1, 2012. She previously served as president, a position she had held since July 2009.
9 Became a named officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb in February 2011, after previously serving the company on a short-term U.S. assignment as a French expatriate. As a result, her 2011 compensation includes a payout of her accrued vacation with the company’s French subsidiary as required by French law.
10 AbbVie comprises the branded pharmaceutical operations spun out of Abbott Laboratories on January 2, 2013. 2012 and 2011 compensation figures reflect Ms. Schumacher’s position both years as Abbott’s evp, general counsel, and corporate secretary.

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