Jennifer Taubert

If the Johnson & Johnson division that Jennifer Taubert runs were a standalone company, it would be one of the 100 largest in the U.S. based on revenue: Her pharmaceutical division, which she has led since 2018, brought in $52.6 billion in 2022 sales. That was up about 29% from the year Taubert took over, but essentially flat from 2021—and it has overall been a rocky few years, throughout J&J and within Taubert’s business. The company this year spun off its consumer products unit, while facing widespread lawsuits claiming its talc-based baby powder caused cancer; it is now focusing on drugs and medical devices. (To make the pivot truly official, J&J replaced its 136-year-old logo.) These changes will turn Taubert’s pharma unit into the source of about two-thirds of J&J’s revenue. She faces numerous challenges within her division: J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine fell flat, and the company is now bracing for increased low-cost competition for other drugs as some of J&J’s patent protections are set to expire. And as of September, South Africa launched an investigation into what regulators called J&J’s “excessive pricing” for a tuberculosis drug. (J&J subsequently announced it would not enforce patents on that drug.) Still, J&J appears optimistic about the pharma business, and says that it expects to grow annual pharma revenues to $57 billion by 2025.

Update, Oct. 6, 2023: This article was updated to add information about Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical division.