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Novartis AG

PharmaceuticalsFounded 1996
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Founders

Who Founded Novartis?

Daniel Vasella, Alex Krauer · Founded 1996 · HQ today: Basel, Switzerland

Who founded Novartis?

Novartis was founded by Daniel Vasella, Alex Krauer in 1996. It is now led by Vas Narasimhan.

Founders
Daniel Vasella, Alex Krauer
Founded
1996
Headquarters
Basel, Switzerland
Number of founders
2
Current CEO
Vas Narasimhan (since 2018)
Where was Novartis founded?
Novartis was founded in Basel, Switzerland in 1996.
When was Novartis founded?
Novartis was founded in 1996.
Who started Novartis?
Novartis was founded by Daniel Vasella and Alex Krauer.
How old is Novartis?
Novartis is 30 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

Novartis's defining scientific story is Gleevec (imatinib). In the 1990s, Ciba-Geigy chemist Nicholas Lydon worked with Oregon Health & Science University oncologist Brian Druker on a molecule designed to block the BCR-ABL protein that drives chronic myeloid leukemia. The market was small and internal support was uncertain, but early trials showed striking responses. The FDA approved Gleevec in May 2001, and it turned a usually fatal leukemia into a condition many patients manage for years with a daily pill, helping launch the era of targeted cancer therapy.

Daniel Vasella

Co-founder 1996

Background

Daniel Vasella, a physician who had led Sandoz Pharma, became the first CEO of Novartis in 1996 and served until 2010; he was also chairman from 1999 to 2013. He oversaw the integration of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, the launch of Gleevec, and the creation of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Role at Novartis AG

Novartis was formed in December 1996 when Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz merged in a deal valued at roughly $27 billion, then among the largest corporate mergers on record. Its roots go back to Geigy (1758), Ciba (1859) and Sandoz (1886), all Basel dye and chemical firms that moved into pharmaceuticals in the early 20th century. Ciba and Geigy combined in 1970. The name Novartis comes from the Latin "novae artes," or new skills. Vasella led the combined company as CEO for its first 14 years.

Daniel Vasella was born in 1953 in Fribourg. Education: University of Bern; Harvard Business School.

Alex Krauer

Co-founder 1996

Background

Alex Krauer was chairman of Ciba-Geigy at the time of its 1996 merger with Sandoz, and the merger plan named him chairman of the combined company, Novartis.

Role at Novartis AG

Alex Krauer was the first chairman of Novartis, serving from the company's formation through the roughly $27 billion merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz in 1996 until 1999, when the board named CEO Daniel Vasella to replace him as chairman. Daniel Vasella, who came from the Sandoz pharmaceuticals business, led the new company's management as CEO. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

Novartis AG: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Mukul Mehta

Chief Financial Officer

2026 – Present

As CFO, he aggressively deploys massive amounts of capital toward high-risk, high-reward biotech acquisitions, ensuring Novartis maintains a dominant pipeline of blockbuster drugs.

Giovanni Caforio

Chair of the Board

2025 – Present

As a highly influential Board Member (and former BMS CEO), he brings unmatched global oncology expertise to Novartis's executive committee.

Vas Narasimhan

Chief Executive Officer

2018 – Present

Narasimhan, a physician who previously led global drug development, became CEO on February 1, 2018. He spun off Alcon (2019) and Sandoz (2023), sold the Roche stake (2021), and refocused Novartis on four therapeutic areas, funding bolt-on deals such as The Medicines Company, Chinook, MorphoSys and Avidity.

Joseph Jimenez

Chief Executive Officer

2010 – 2018

Serving as CEO from 2010 to 2018, he fundamentally transformed the massive Swiss conglomerate, heavily trimming its bloated divisions to create a highly focused, pure-play innovative medicines company.

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Who Founded Novartis? FAQ

What are the historic 19th-century founding origins of Ciba, Geigy, and Sandoz?

Novartis traces its institutional roots to three historic Swiss chemical and dye enterprises in Basel: J.R. Geigy (founded in 1758 by Johann Rudolf Geigy-Gemuseus), Ciba (founded in 1859 by Alexander Clavel to produce synthetic fuchsine dye), and Sandoz (founded in 1886 by Alfred Kern and Edouard Sandoz to manufacture alizarin dyes).

Who was Alfred Kern and Edouard Sandoz and how did they pioneer pharmaceuticals?

Chemist Alfred Kern and merchant Edouard Sandoz founded Chemische Fabrik Kern & Sandoz in Basel in 1886; in 1917, Sandoz established its pharmaceutical research department under Nobel laureate Arthur Stoll, isolating pure ergotamine and digitalis glycosides for heart and migraine therapies.

Who was Alexander Clavel and how did Ciba originate in Basel in 1859?

Alexander Clavel was a French silk-dyeing entrepreneur who in 1859 established a synthetic fuchsine dye factory in Basel; his business evolved into the Society of Chemical Industry in Basel (CIBA), which pivoted in the early 1900s into antiseptics, hormones, and cardiovascular drugs.

Who was Paul Müller and how did his discovery at J.R. Geigy win the Nobel Prize?

Dr. Paul Hermann Müller, a research chemist at J.R. Geigy in Basel, discovered the insecticidal properties of DDT in 1939; his discovery saved millions of human lives during WWII by stopping outbreaks of typhus and malaria, earning Müller the 1948 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

How did the 1970 merger between CIBA and J.R. Geigy create Ciba-Geigy?

In 1970, CIBA and J.R. Geigy merged to form Ciba-Geigy AG, creating a diversified Swiss life sciences, specialty chemicals, and pharmaceuticals conglomerate that became an international leader in agrochemicals, plastics, and prescription medicines.

What does the Latin corporate name 'Novartis' signify?

The name 'Novartis' was derived from the Latin phrase 'Novae Artes' (meaning 'New Skills' or 'New Arts'), symbolizing the merged company's commitment to harnessing advanced scientific innovation and modern biotechnology to discover new medicines.

What was the famous architectural vision behind the Novartis Campus in Basel?

Conceived by founding CEO Daniel Vasella and master planner Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani in 2001, the Novartis Campus in St. Johann, Basel, transformed a former chemical plant into an open pedestrian campus featuring buildings designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects (Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, Herzog & de Meuron, SANAA).

What foundational Swiss scientific values guide Novartis today?

Novartis preserves its two-century-old Swiss heritage: uncompromising scientific excellence, rigorous clinical proof, precision chemical manufacturing, patient safety, and long-term research commitment to solving complex human diseases.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.