Brian Howell

Brian Howell has over 30 years of work experience in procurement and strategic partnerships. Brian is currently working at Avantor as the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Strategic Partners. Prior to this role, they held the position of Vice President of Strategic Partners at Avantor. Brian has also worked at Syner-G Pharma Consulting, LLC as a member of the Commercial and Scientific Advisory Board.

Before joining Avantor and Syner-G Pharma Consulting, LLC, Brian worked at Novartis for several years. Brian served as the Vice President of Procurement, where they managed a global, third-party spend of $2.5 billion across various categories. Brian also held the role of Chief Procurement Officer, leading all strategic and operational procurement activities for the research division of Novartis. Additionally, Brian served as a Global Category Leader at Novartis, where they implemented global category governance models and led initiatives to streamline lab supplies and equipment sourcing.

Prior to their time at Novartis, Brian worked at Johnson & Johnson as the Manager of Alliance Strategy in Clinical Research, where they oversaw third-party strategies and relationships. Brian also held the role of Clinical Sourcing Contract Manager at Johnson & Johnson. Earlier in their career, Brian worked at Schering-Plough as a Procurement Manager in Marketing and at BASF Corporation as a Product Manager and Account Executive. At BASF, they gained experience in sales and marketing for the active pharmaceutical ingredients business, both in North America and globally.

Brian Howell obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Baylor University, where they studied from 1986 to 1990. Brian then pursued their Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a focus on Marketing and Supply Chain Management at Tulane University from 1990 to 1992.