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.
