Vicki Sato

Vicki Sato serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Vir Biotechnology and Denali Therapeutics, and as a business advisor to enterprises in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

From 2006 to 2017, Dr. Sato served on the faculties of Harvard University: as Professor of Management Practice at The Harvard Business School and as Professor of the Practice, Molecular and Cell Biology, on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Sato retired in 2005 from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where she served as President since 2000, with responsibility for research and development, business and corporate development, commercial operations, legal and finance. Prior to becoming President, she was Chief Scientific Officer, Senior Vice President of Research and Development and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. Under her leadership, Vertex created a diversified pipeline of drugs. Before joining Vertex, Dr. Sato was Vice President of Research at Biogen, Inc., where she led research programs in the areas of inflammation, thrombosis and HIV disease, and where she participated in the executive management of the company. Several molecules from those programs have now reached the marketplace. She also served as a member of the Biogen Scientific Board.

Currently, Dr. Sato is a member of the board of directors of publicly held companies Akouos and Allogene Therapeutics, having retired recently from the boards of Bristol Myers Squibb and BorgWarner Corporation after many years of service. In 2021 she was appointed to President Joseph Biden’s Council of Advisors in Science and Technology (PCAST).

Dr. Sato holds an A.B. from Radcliffe College, and A.M. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. Following postdoctoral work at both the University of California Berkeley and Stanford Medical Center, Dr. Sato was appointed to the faculty of Harvard University, where she was an Assistant and Associate Professor of Biology.