Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> February 24, 1999
JOHN S. NORTH joined American Biogenetic Sciences, Inc as President and
CEO in November of 1998. He was formerly the director of international
public and government relations for Eli Lilly and Company. Beginning in
1982 he was involved in the international operations of the company,
first living in England as the head of sales and marketing for Dista
Products Co. Ltd. and then as the director of new product planning for
Europe and the Nordic area. In this capacity Mr. North was in charge of
the introduction in Europe of Eli Lilly and Company's novel anti-
depressant Prozac. Repatriating back to Indianapolis in 1986 he was
involved in international policy, public and government relations for
all of Lilly's operations outside of the United States. His extensive
travels have taken him to all continents and most of the 86 Lilly
affiliates worldwide. Born in Amsterdam, New York he received a Bachelor
of Science degree in Pharmacy in 1967 from Albany College of Pharmacy,
where he has also served on the board of trustees (1970-1972) and has
received the school's pharmacy leadership award (1996). Mr. North has
been involved in a number of community organizations including serving
as the Chairman of the Board of the Indianapolis Civic Theatre from 1992
to 1994. He is the past Chairman of the Indiana District Export Council,
a voluntary board appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to help
promote U.S. exports, and is on the advisory board of the Indiana
University Global Business Information Network and the Indiana Center
for Intercultural Communication. He has been married for the past 32
years to his wife Phyllis and the couple have three grown children,
Jennifer 30, Heather 26, and Scott 25. Mr. North enjoys involvement with
young people and is a frequent guest speaker at Barauch College of
Business in New York City, Indiana University in Bloomington, and Notre
Dame University in South Bend. He enjoys golf, swimming, and boating. Profile
activities, products, those kinds of things?
Mr. North: American Biogenetic Sciences has been a public company since
1990. Its
