Soichi Matsuno

MBA '81
Chairman and CEO
Eisai Inc.

Profile

Soichi Matsuno began his career with Eisai Co. Ltd., one of Japan's largest pharmaceutical companies, in 1967. He worked as a medical rep in Tokyo before spending the Seventies abroad. He received his MBA from Rutgers in 1981 and has since played a key role in helping Eisai build its business in the U.S. In 1984, he was named executive vice president of Eisai USA, a pharmaceutical machinery company. In the late Eighties, he was named U.S. president of drug discovery and clinical research. In 1992, he assumed the role of president of Eisai Corporation of North America - the headquarters for all U.S. businesses. When Eisai, Inc. was established in 1995, he was given the added responsibility of serving as its president. In 2000, he was elevated to his current position. Eisai Inc. is only the fourth U.S. pharmaceutical company to pass $1 billion in U.S. sales in five years or less. Its drug, Aricept, is the leading therapy for Alzheimer's disease.

Recognized: June 11, 2003