David A. Ricks

President & CEO, Eli Lilly and Company Business Circle

Dave Ricks is president and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company, and he has been elected chairman of the company’s board, effective June 1, 2017.

A 20-year Lilly veteran, Ricks served as president of Lilly Bio-Medicines from 2012 to 2016.  Previously, he was president of Lilly USA, the company’s largest affiliate, from 2009 to 2012.  He served as president and general manager of Lilly China, operating in one of the world’s fastest-growing emerging markets, from 2008 to 2009.  And he was general manager of Lilly Canada from 2005 to 2008, after roles as director of pharmaceutical marketing and national sales director in that country. Ricks joined Lilly in 1996 as a business development associate and held several management roles in U.S. marketing and sales before moving to Lilly Canada.

Ricks earned a Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in 1990 and an MBA from Indiana University in 1996.

Ricks serves on the board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.  He chairs the Riley Children’s Foundation Board of Governors.