Joaquin Duato (born April 1962) is a Spanish-American business executive. Duato is a dual citizen of Spain and the United States.[2] He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Johnson & Johnson, an American multinational conglomerate.[3] He is the eighth person to be CEO of Johnson & Johnson since it became a publicly-traded company in 1944.
In 1989, Duato began his career with Johnson & Johnson, joining Janssen Pharmaceuticals in Spain.[5] After moving to the USA in 2002, Duato was appointed Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals in 2011. His growth strategy led to the turnaround of Johnson & Johnson’s struggling pharmaceutical business in the early 2000s.[4]
In 2018 when he was promoted to vice chairman of Johnson & Johnson’s executive committee, he led the pharmaceuticals and consumer product divisions and oversaw supply-chain and technology operations.[5][6] He also was interim Chief Information Officer.[4]
Duato was appointed CEO in August 2021 which became effective on January 3, 2022. He was also appointed to the company’s board of directors.[7][8] In November 2022, he was elected to chair the Board of Directors, effective January 2023. Duato oversaw the separation of Johnson & Johnson's consumer health segment, now an independent publicly traded company, Kenvue.[9]
During this time, Duato also was the executive sponsor of the company's African Ancestry Leadership Council.[10]
In 2023, Duato was the highest paid CEO of the major pharmaceutical companies, earning $28.4 million.That was a 117% increase over 2022.[11]
Board membership and honors
Joaquin Duato is a board member of the U.S. Spain Council and previously served on boards with UNICEF USA, Tsinghua University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Hess Corporation.[6] Duato was past chair of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).[6] Duato was Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Honorable Mentor honoree and EVP in 2017.[12] In 2021, Duato was ranked #3 on the NJBIZ Manufacturing Power 50 list.[13] The following year, Duato received the 2022 ESADE Award.[14][15]
