Rank: 26
Stéphane Bancel
CEO, Moderna
Bancel joined the company in 2011 when it was a fledgling startup that had just begun research on messenger RNA-based medicines. In late 2020, the decade-long development process for mRNA paid off in the form of a COVID-19 vaccine that was approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, just behind Pfizer’s vaccine. Since then, Moderna’s vaccines have been a boon for the company and for Bancel personally, who owns an estimated 8% of the company. Looking ahead, Bancel is overseeing expansion of the mRNA pipeline with three new development tracks, including one for a cancer vaccine. The goal is to target latent viruses before they become lifelong medical conditions, he said. He previously served as CEO of French biotech company bioMerieux and as a managing director at Eli Lilly.