Leo Farber, a VP and head of U.S. government affairs at Novartis, was elected the new chair of the Health Care Institute of New Jersey, the group announced Monday.
Farber, who assumed the role July 1, succeeds Chris Lepore, VP, U.S. state government affairs and civil justice reform initiatives at Johnson & Johnson.
- The board also elected:
- Vice chair: Charles Leitgeb, deputy director, state government affairs, Bayer;
- Treasurer: Brianna Earle, regional lead state government affairs, Northeast, Novo Nordisk
- Secretary: Amanda Pezalla, head of government affairs and public policy, legal and corporate affairs, Daiichi Sankyo.
HINJ also announced that Chris Guiton, senior director, U.S. state government affairs at Johnson & Johnson has been reappointed chair of the HINJ Steering Committee, and that George Coutros, director, state government relations at Sanofi U.S., has been reappointed Vice Chair.
Farber joined Novartis in 2014 and has held roles of increasing responsibility during his tenure. He is currently a member of the Novartis US Public Affairs Leadership Team and serves as a Trustee for the Pharmaceutical Industry-Labor Management Association.
Prior to joining Novartis, Farber was deputy vice president at PhRMA and has also previously worked at a government relations and an international law firm. Farber holds a JD from American University Washington College of Law and is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland Bars. He also earned a Bachelors from George Washington University and Masters from American University.
