Rob Kowalski

As Chief People & Organization (P&O) Officer of Novartis, Rob Kowalski leads the company’s strategy to unleash the power of its more than 100,000 employees to support its long-term priorities and purpose.

Rob took on his current role in 2021. He leads the P&O function at a time when the global pandemic continues to reshape the global working environment and Novartis is accelerating the adoption of new working models for employees to optimize both personal and business performance.

Rob is passionate about creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable environment where all employees can fully apply their talents and energies. He is responsible for delivering on the company’s pledge to the United Nations (UN) Equal Pay International Coalition to achieve gender balance in management and further improve pay equity and transparency processes by 2023.

Rob has held a range of other senior leadership roles at Novartis, and is known for his skill in building and leading diverse organizations. In his previous role as Global Head of Regulatory Affairs, he led an organization that has delivered a dozen new molecular entity approvals in the three years through 2020.

Rob holds a doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US.