Deirdre Connelly - President, North America Pharmaceuticals

Deirdre joined GSK as President, North America Pharmaceuticals, in February 2009.

Prior to this, Deirdre was appointed President of US operations at Eli Lilly and Company in 2005. Previously she was Senior Vice President for Human Resources at Lilly. She had joined Lilly in 1983 as a sales representative and moved to San Juan as a marketing associate a year later. After progressing through sales and marketing roles of increasing responsibility, including Lilly’s international management development programme, she was promoted to General Manager for Eli Lilly Puerto Rico, SA, in 1995.

From 1997 to 2001 she held the positions of Regional Sales Director and Executive Director of Global Marketing for Evista (an osteoporosis treatment for post-menopausal women) and was promoted to leader of the woman’s health business unit in the US affiliate. She then became Executive Director of Human Resources for the US affiliate in 2003, joining the company’s Policy Committee in 2004.

A native of San Juan, Deirdre received a bachelor's degree in economics and marketing from Lycoming College in Pennsylvania in 1983. She graduated from the Harvard University's Advanced Management Programme in 2000, and in January 2013 was appointed to the Harvard University Public Health Policy Council.

Deirdre is also a member of the Board of Directors of Macy’s Inc., the US department store chain.