Azita Saleki-Gerhardt, Ph.D.

Dr. Azita Saleki-Gerhardt is Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer, leading a global team of scientific, manufacturing, engineering, quality, and supply chain professionals responsible for supply and distribution of all AbbVie products, as well as several enterprise services, including facilities, purchasing and security.

Dr. Saleki-Gerhardt joined Abbott in 1993 as a research scientist. She has worked in key leadership positions of increasing responsibility across a broad range of areas, including science and technology and quality assurance. In 2011, she assumed the role of President, Global Pharmaceutical Operations at Abbott.  Following AbbVie’s separation from Abbott in 2013, Dr. Saleki-Gerhardt was appointed to lead Operations at AbbVie.  She also serves as the chair of AbbVie’s executive crisis management team, where she is responsible for the company’s cross-functional preparedness and response to ongoing issues.

She has been published in a number of scientific publications and has been awarded several patents related to pharmaceutical sciences.

Dr. Saleki-Gerhardt is a member of the board of directors for Entegris. She is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Boards for the School of International Studies and School of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. At AbbVie, she is the executive chair of the Women Leaders in Action employee resource group. She is a recent alumna of the board of directors for United Way of Lake County.

Dr. Saleki-Gerhardt earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in pharmaceutics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.