10 Things You Didn’t Know about Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Giovanni Caforio

Giovanni Caforio is both the CEO and the Chairman of the Board for Bristol Myers Squibb. As a result, he is the man in charge of one of the most important pharmaceutical companies in the United States and beyond, thus making him a figure of a fair amount of importance. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Giovanni Caforio:

1. Giovanni Is the Italian Version of John

Giovanni is a very popular choice. This is because it is the Italian version of John, meaning that it comes from the Latin Ioannes. However, the trail doesn’t end there because the Latin Ioannes can be traced to the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning “YHWH Is Gracious.”

2. Studied at Sapienza University of Rome

Education-wise, Caforio studied at the Sapienza University of Rome, which can be shortened to either Sapienza or the University of Rome. It is one of the biggest universities in the whole of Europe. Moreover, it is one of the most prestigous as well, not least because it was founded at the start of the 14th century.

3. Is an M.D.

As for what Caforio studied, well, suffice to say that he is a MD, which would be a Doctor of Medicine. It isn’t uncommon for MDs to take on managerial positions in pharmaceutical companies, though for obvious reasons, there aren’t a lot of MDs who manage to make it to the same heights as Caforio.

4. Used to Be At Abbott Laboratories

There was a time when Caforio was at Abbott Laboratories, which started out in formulating known drugs but has since expanded to cover a wide range of other healthcare products. Even then, Caforio held a number of important leadership positions before he made the switch to Bristol Myers Squibb.

5. Developed Over Time

Caforio has occupied various positions over the course of his career at Bristol Myers Squibb. Over time, these positions have become more and more powerful, which in turn, meant that they came with more and more important responsibilities. Based on this, it should come as no surprise to learn that one of the reasons for the promotions was to develop Caforio’s managerial talent for the benefit of Bristol Myers Squibb.

6. Multi-Lingual

Given his background, it shouldn’t be difficult to guess that Caforio can speak more than one language. After all, he studied at the University of Rome but runs a U.S.-based corporation, so it makes sense that he would be able to speak both Italian and English. However, it is important to note that Caforio can speak French, Spanish, and Portuguese as well, thus making for a total of five languages.

7. Has Headed Up Operations in Other Countries

With that said, Caforio’s language skills make sense because he has been put in charge of Bristol Myers Squibb’s operations in other countries at various points over the course of his career. For example, he has headed up European marketing. Likewise, he has been in command of other operations in other countries such as Greece, Israel, and Italy.

8. Made Bristol Myers Squibb Important in Cancer Treatment

As CEO, one of Caforio’s more interesting achievements is how he has made Bristol Myers Squibb important in the market for cancer treatments once again. However, his efforts in this regard have seen both ups and downs, as shown by how the corporation’s stock price took a serious tumble in 2016 because a pharmaceutical showed worse results than expected when tested.

9. Trustee of PhRMA

Caforio is a trustee os PhRMA, which stands for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. In short, this is a trade group that exists for the purpose of pushing for public policies that spur on the discovery of new pharmaceuticals by pharmaceutical companies.

10. Member of Business Roundtable

Speaking of which, Caforio is a member of the Business Roundtable as well. In that case, the Business Roundtable is a collection of CEOs who push for public policies that are beneficial for businesses. Theoretically, this is meant for the benefit of the whole of the U.S. economy, but in practice, well, suffice to say that economics isn’t a simple and straightforward matter under the best of circumstances. As a result, the Business Roundtable has received plenty of criticism for a wide range of reasons, sometimes justified and sometimes not so justified.

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