Dave Ricks is chairman and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company. He was elected chairman of the company’s board effective June 2017.
A Lilly veteran for more than 20 years, Ricks served as president of Lilly Bio-Medicines from 2012 to 2016. Previously, he was president of Lilly USA, the company’s largest affiliate, from 2009 to 2012. He served as president and general manager of Lilly China, operating in one of the world’s fastest -growing emerging markets, from 2008 to 2009. And he was general manager of Lilly Canada from 2005 to 2008, after roles as director of pharmaceutical marketing and national sales director in that country. Ricks joined Lilly in 1996 as a business development associate and held several management roles in U.S. marketing and sales before moving to Lilly Canada.
Ricks earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University in 1990 and a master of business administration degree from Indiana University in 1996.
Ricks is on the boards of Adobe and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; he is chairman-elect for PhRMA. He also serves on the board of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. Ricks is president of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA). He is a member of The Business Council, the Business Roundtable, and chairs the Riley Children’s Foundation’s board of governors.