Reshema Kemps-Polanco is Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Novartis US, the U.S. operations of global biopharmaceutical company Novartis AG, where she is responsible for end-to-end commercialization across four therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, neurology, and cardiovascular/renal/metabolic conditions. Ms. Kemps-Polanco returned to Novartis in 2021 as EVP & US Head, Novartis Oncology. Prior to rejoining Novartis, she held several leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson from 2014 until 2021, most recently as President, Janssen U.S. Cardiovascular & Metabolism and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Puerto Rico, where she was responsible for developing and delivering the business strategy and driving growth initiatives for those businesses.
Ms. Kemps-Polanco began her pharmaceutical industry career at Novartis in 2012 in sales and held management positions of increasing responsibility, including leading the U.S. commercial team's marketing strategy for its leukemia franchise and serving as U.S. brand leader for its osteoporosis therapy. She is a member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute Leadership Council, the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) Global Advisory Board, and the CEO Roundtable on Cancer.
Ms. Kemps-Polanco has been a director of Charles River since January 2024. She was selected for the Board in recognition of her extensive healthcare business leadership knowledge, deep industry experience at two of the top-10 global pharmaceutical companies, her demonstrated ability to oversee large commercial organizations across multiple therapeutic areas, and her over 25 years of experience in the life-sciences sector.