Aarti Shah has been promoted to senior VP and chief information officer at Lilly, moving up from a role as the firm’s global brand development leader for immunology.
She joined the pharma firm in 1994 as a senior statistician, subsequently holding a number of technical and administrative leadership positions in the US and abroad.
In that time her roles included serving as vice president for biometrics and advanced analytics and as executive director of global information sciences.
She said: “I want to create an environment in which IT enables and brings innovative solutions to business transformations across Lilly‘s entire drug development value chain from discovery to commercial.
“I hope to do this by unleashing the potential of our employees and by building strong internal and external collaborations and thus play a critical role in bringing Lilly’s mission to life.”
In her new role, she will lead the efforts of a worldwide IT organisation with more than 1,300 employees and report to Derica Rice, Lilly’s executive vice president of Global Services and chief financial officer.
Rice said: “As a visionary and inspirational leader, Aarti has a proven track record of building strong, flexible and sustainable organisations. She is known for her relentless focus and passion for developing people. And her deep knowledge of drug development will be vital as IT touches every aspect of our business.”