Pfizer vs Samsung: Founders, CEOs and History

Pfizer

Founded

1849

Headquarters

New York, New York

Current CEO

Albert Bourla

Employees

75,000

Samsung

Founded

1969

Headquarters

Suwon, South Korea

Current CEO

Jun Young-hyun and Roh Tae-moon

Employees

259,149

Pfizer

• Charles Pfizer

  Pfizer possesses a historic, immigrant founding story, rooted entirely in the rapid industrial expansion of 19th-century Brooklyn and defined by an effective, intensely meticulous German chemist and his ambitious confectioner cousin.

• Charles Erhart

  Charles Erhart's role in Pfizer's founding is less celebrated than his cousin's, partly because the company carries Charles Pfizer's name and partly because his commercial contributions were less visible than the scientific achievements that drove the company'…

Samsung

• Lee Byung-chul

  Lee Byung-chul founded Samsung Sanghoe in Daegu in 1938, trading dried fish, produce and noodles.

Pfizer

1. Ian Read2010–2018

   Chief Executive Officer

   He ruthlessly cut R&D spending and eliminated tens of thousands of jobs, significantly boosting short-term earnings per share despite massive patent cliffs for blockbuster drugs like Lipitor.

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2. Albert Bourla2019–present

   Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

   A veterinarian by training who joined Pfizer Animal Health in 1993, Bourla became CEO on January 1, 2019 and Chairman in 2020.

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3. Dave Denton2022–2026

   Chief Financial Officer

   As CFO, he aggressively restructured the balance sheet following the Seagen acquisition, prioritizing debt reduction while defending the dividend.

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4. Chris Boshoff2025–present

   Chief Scientific Officer and President, Research & Development

   He completely restructured the research and development organization to focus on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), aggressively expanding Pfizer's pipeline of cancer therapeutics.

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5. Cecile Guegan2026–present

   Interim Chief Financial Officer

   She modernized the company's internal auditing and compliance structures, ensuring rapid but safe clinical execution for high-priority vaccine programs.

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Samsung

1. Jong-Hee Han2022–2025

   Vice Chairman and CEO

   A longtime TV business leader who helped keep Samsung the top global TV brand. He died suddenly in March 2025 while in office.

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2. Jay Y. Lee2022–present

   Executive Chairman

   Grandson of the founder and son of Lee Kun-hee. He was convicted in the 2017 bribery case and pardoned in 2022, and became Executive Chairman in October 2022. In 2025 the Supreme Court upheld his acquittal in the separate merger and accounting fraud case.

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3. Jun Young-hyun2024–present

   Vice Chairman, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Head of Device Solutions

   He implemented a complete overhaul of the semiconductor division's engineering processes, issuing a rare public apology in 2024 for the company's technological delays.

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4. Roh Tae-moon (TM Roh)2025–present

   Co-Chief Executive Officer, Head of Device eXperience

   As head of the MX (Mobile eXperience) division, he heavily integrated AI features (Galaxy AI) into the S-series flagship phones to combat Apple's dominance in the premium tier.

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Pfizer

• Metsera, Inc.2025$7B
• Seagen Inc.2023$43B
• Medivation Inc.2016$14B
• Wyeth2009$68B
• Pharmacia Corporation2003$60B
• Warner-Lambert Company2000$111B

Samsung

• FlaktGroup2025$1.7B
• Xealth2025Undisclosed
• Harman International2017$8B
• SmartThings2014$200M