CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Reshma Kewalramani Reflects on Her Journey as the First Female CEO of a Large Biotech Company
“I am a physician, executive, immigrant, wife, and mother. All of these roles — the experiences I’ve had and the people I’ve met along the way — have helped shape the person and leader I am today.” Today’s woman dreamer, Reshma Kewalramani is the CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, making her the First Female CEO of a large biotech company. Reshma shares her passion for giving back with dedicated organizations such as Akshaya Patra, the defining moments in her career, and her top advice for young women professionals. She shares, “My giving back is focused on science and medicine, closing the opportunity gap, and bringing more women and under-represented minorities into STEM fields.” We are honored to share her story in our Women in Philanthropy series in collaboration with Akshaya Patra USA.
(1) You are the CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, making you the first female CEO of a large US biotech company. Tell us your journey and what inspired you to be the woman you are today?
I am a physician, executive, immigrant, wife, and mother. All of these roles — the experiences I’ve had and the people I’ve met along the way — have helped shape the person and leader I am today. I grew up in Mumbai and came to the U.S. when I was 12. I often quip, that in my family, the career choices were basically engineering, medicine, or priesthood — I chose medicine. I enrolled in the seven-year medicine program at Boston University and wanted to be a “triple threat,” meaning that I’d conduct my own research, teach medical students and residents, and provide excellent patient care. During my medical training, I discovered a passion for clinical research and the opportunity it holds for advancing patient care.
Fast forward several years, and I realized that what inspired me most was seeing the impact of new medicines for patients, and I recognized that the front lines of this work was within the biotech industry. This is why I decided to move from academia to drug development. After spending 12+ years at Amgen, I came to Vertex in 2017 and after serving as Chief Medical Officer, I became Vertex’s CEO and President in April 2020. Our mission at Vertex is to invest in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for people with serious diseases, and we have a unique corporate and R&D strategy that focuses on serious diseases where we understand the underlying cause of the disease in humans and where we have the potential to make a transformative impact, regardless of treatment modality. Our strategy and our success are exemplified by our long history in cystic fibrosis (CF) and the progress we’ve been making in many other serious diseases. In the last several years, we’ve expanded our leadership in CF, progressed our potential gene-editing therapy for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, and advanced multiple new programs into the clinic for diseases like type 1 diabetes, APOL1-mediated kidney disease and pain.
I have dedicated my career to improving the lives of patients — this has been my constant source of inspiration throughout my career. At Vertex, we have an uncompromising commitment to patients, and this commitment is what serves as my North Star when faced with challenging circumstances and decisions.
(2) You were a speaker at the Akshaya Patra Boston Gala Fireside chat, and you were so inspiring and engaging for the audience. What inspired you to get involved in Akshaya Patra, and what excites you about the organization's mission?
What excites me about the organization’s mission is how it is addressing a dual need in India — hunger and education. I understand the value of, and have benefitted greatly from, education and believe deeply that no child should be deprived of access to education for any reason. The Foundation has set an ambitious goal of feeding five million children each day by 2025, and I am motivated by the opportunity to help them meet (and hopefully exceed) their goal.
(3) Organizations like Akshaya Patra bring passionate and like-minded individuals together to give back for a powerful cause. Why is philanthropy important to you, and how do you find the time/opportunity to give back in your own life?
Philanthropy is an important part of my life, and I find the time because I make it a priority. Giving back is not just about money, it’s also about giving your time, sharing your perspective and experiences, and opening doors for others whenever possible. As a physician, I’m especially passionate about supporting the next generation of scientists and those interested in making in difference in healthcare. For that reason, I spend I enjoy speaking with students or participating in events like the Akshaya Patra Boston Gala. My giving is focused on science and medicine, closing the opportunity gap, and bringing more women and under-represented minorities into STEM fields.
We also build philanthropy into the culture at Vertex through a variety of initiatives through corporate giving and the Vertex Foundation. In this way, we instill the value of giving back to our communities across all of our employees and offices around the world.
(4) One of Akshaya Patra's new initiatives is the Young Professionals, and on Women Who Win, we also have a women’s mentorship program. What is your top piece of advice to young women professionals and leaders?
Never underestimate the power of mentorship. This is advice I give to women, but it’s also advice I give to everyone — women, men, whether they are just joining the workforce or have been working for a long time. This is important because life (whether it is about personal decision making, career decision making or decision making for a company) is about evaluating weak signals and trying to make the best decision by connecting the dots in these weak signals. That’s where mentors come in. They sit on a different perch. They have different life experiences. They read the weak signals differently. And by sharing their perspectives, they often open the aperture for what’s possible.
While mentoring is important at any stage of a career, I believe it’s incredibly important for young professionals. That’s why, at Vertex, we intentionally build in mentoring opportunities across our various early career and workforce development programs. Through our paid internships and co-ops, we enable connection and mentoring between students and Vertex employees. We also work with nonprofit organizations that primarily serve underresourced communities, like Year Up and Bottom Line, to provide mentorship and professional skill-building for some of our programs.
I am the great beneficiary of outstanding mentoring, and it’s important to remember that mentors don’t have to be similar to you. Seek multiple mentors who come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives. Two of my most important mentors are men, and the diversity of thought, ideas, and life experiences is what helped these mentorships flourish.