Daniel Vasella graduated with an M.D. from the University of Bern in 1979. After holding a number of medical positions in Switzerland, he joined Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation in the US in 1988. From 1993 to 1995, Daniel Vasella advanced from Head of Corporate Marketing and Senior Vice President and Head of Worldwide Development to Chief Operating Officer of Sandoz Pharma Ltd. In 1995 and 1996, Daniel Vasella was a member of the Sandoz Group Executive Committee and Chief Executive Officer of Sandoz Pharma Ltd. After the merger that created Novartis in 1996, Daniel Vasella became Chief Executive Officer of the Group and executive member of the Board of Directors. In 1999 he additionally was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors. Daniel Vasella is also a member of the Board of Directors of Pepsico, Inc., United States, and a member of the Chairman's Council of DaimlerChrysler AG, Germany. In addition, he is President of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations, a member of the International Board of Governors of the Peres Center for Peace in Israel and a member of the International Business Leaders Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai. He is a member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors at the Harvard Business School, and a member of the INSEAD Board of Directors. In 2002, Dr. Vasella was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Basel.

Urs Baerlocher earned his J.D. from the University of Basel and was admitted to the bar in 1970. After working as a tax lawyer, he joined Sandoz in 1973, and held a number of key positions including Head of Strategic Planning and Head of Group Reporting. In 1987, he was made a member of the Sandoz Executive Board, responsible i.a. for Strategic Planning, HR, Legal, Taxes, Patents and Trademarks. In 1990, he became CEO of the Sandoz Nutrition Division and then, in 1993, CEO of Sandoz Pharma. In 1995, Urs Baerlocher assumed the position of Chairman of the Board of Sandoz Deutschland GmbH (Germany) and Biochemie GmbH (Austria). After the formation of Novartis in 1996 he served as Head of Legal, Tax, Insurance, to which Corporate Security and International Coordination were added. He became a member of the Executive Committee of Novartis in 1999. He has held his current position as Head of Legal and General Affairs since 2000, when his responsibilities were extended to include Corporate Intellectual Property and Corporate Health, Safety & Environment as well as, from 2004, the newly created function, Corporate Risk Management. In 2005 the corporate function Public Affairs was also integrated into Legal and General Affairs and since then Group Quality Operations report functionally to Urs Baerlocher.

Raymund Breu graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, with a Ph.D. in mathematics. In 1975, he joined the Treasury Department of the Sandoz Group, and, in 1982, became the Head of Finance for the Sandoz affiliates in the UK. In 1985, he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Sandoz Corporation in New York, where he was responsible for all Sandoz Finance activities in the US. In 1990, he became Group Treasurer of Sandoz Ltd., Basel, Switzerland, and, in 1993, Head of Group Finance and Member of the Sandoz Executive Board. Following the formation of Novartis in 1996, he assumed his current position as Chief Financial Officer and member of the Group Executive Committee. Raymund Breu is also a member of the Board of Directors of Swiss Re, Chiron (US), the SWX Swiss Exchange and its admission panel, and the Swiss takeover commission.

Juergen Brokatzky-Geiger graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Freiburg, Germany, in 1982. He joined Ciba-Geigy in 1983 as a Laboratory Head in the Pharmaceutical Division. After a job rotation in Summit, NJ, from 1987 to 1988 he held a number of positions of increasing responsibility, including Group Leader of Process R&D, Head of Process R&D and Head of Process Development and Pilot Plant Operations. During the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz in 1996, Juergen Brokatzky-Geiger was appointed Integration Officer of Technical Operations. Thereafter, he became the Head of Chemical and Analytical Development and, from 1999 until August 2003, he served as the Global Head of Technical R&D. Juergen Brokatzky-Geiger was appointed to his present position as Head of Human Resources on September 1, 2003. He has been a member of the Executive Committee since January 1, 2005.