Lamberto Andreotti was born on July 6, 1950, in Rome, Italy. He earned an engineering degree from Sapienza University of Rome. Lamberto would later earn a Master of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He worked for a number of pharmaceutical companies such as Farmitalia Carlo Erba, KABI Pharmacia and Pharmacia & Upjohn. Lamberto then joined Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1998 as Vice President and General Manager, European Oncology and Italy. He rose further up the executive ladder holding roles of increasing responsibility. Lamberto was elected to the Board of Directors in 2009. In 2010 he was named Chief Executive Officer, he served in this role for five years.
Under his stewardship, the company transformed becoming a leader in the biopharma industry. The company is now known for its robust pipeline and portfolio of innovative medicines, it has also pioneered the increasingly promising field of immuno-oncology. Earlier in the year he announced his retirement as CEO to coincide right after his 65th birthday to devote more time to his personal life.
Since Lamberto assumed the CEO role, based in early January 2015, company shares have gained around 196 percent compared to 90 percent for the S&P 500. Lamberto is now the Chairman of Bristol-Myers Squibb, the pharma company that generates annual revenue of around $16 billion.
Bristol-Myers was founded in 1887 by William McLaren Bristol and John Ripley Myers in Clinton, New York. Squibb on the other hand was founded in 1858 by Edward Robinson Squibb in Brooklyn, New York. The Squibb corporation served as a major supplier of medical goods to the Union Army during the United States Civil War, providing portable medical kits containing morphine, surgical anesthetics, and quinine for the treatment of malaria (which was endemic in most of the eastern United States at that time).
Bristol-Myers Squibb was formed in 1989, following the merger of its predecessors Bristol-Myers and the Squibb Corporation.
