Executive Decisions with Steve Sedgwick Own the Role You Have: Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan
Mar 3, 2026
Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis and a physician with a public‑health background, reflects on immigrant roots and a mission-driven career. He recounts choosing medicine and business to scale impact. He discusses tough leadership choices, owning failures, the emotional payoff of drug breakthroughs, and routines that sustain performance.
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Humanitarian Trips Sparked Shift From Clinician To Leader
- Early humanitarian work in The Gambia, Kolkata and Botswana pushed Vas toward medicine and public health.
- Experiences showed weak management in public health, prompting him to learn leadership rather than remain a clinician.
Be Fully Present In Your Current Role
- Don't obsess about the next role; be fully present and maximise the experience of your current role.
- Vas credits his parents' advice to "throw yourself fully into whatever you're doing" as central to career growth.
Small Units Offer Fast Career Acceleration
- Taking leadership in small, struggling units accelerates learning and responsibility.
- Vas joined Novartis Vaccines when it was 2% of sales and eight immersive years there propelled him to run units and testify to Congress by age 32.