When you think about leadership in oncology, who comes to mind?
Leadership shapes outcomes in oncology as profoundly as science. Behind every breakthrough therapy, global guideline, research network, cancer center, advocacy movement, or access initiative stands a chief executive whose decisions determine what is prioritized, funded, scaled, and ultimately delivered to patients.
This list recognizes 100 Chief Executive Officers whose leadership has had a measurable and lasting impact on the global oncology ecosystem. These leaders represent a wide spectrum of institutions – pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, cancer centers and hospitals, professional societies, regulatory and policy bodies, research funders, advocacy organizations, and mission-driven non-profits. Together, they influence the full continuum of cancer care: from discovery and clinical development to access, education, survivorship, and end-of-life care.
The 100 CEOs featured here reflect the diversity and complexity of modern oncology leadership. In 2025, some lead the world’s largest cancer institutions; others guide specialized societies or emerging innovators. What unites them is responsibility: for millions of patients, for the integrity of science, and for the future direction of cancer care globally.
This list is not a celebration of power, but a recognition of stewardship, accountability, and impact – and of the leaders whose choices continue to shape the fight against cancer. For the many deserving individuals not mentioned in this list, we will continue to acknowledge, honor and elevate your voices in our daily publications from across the world.
The 100 Most Influential CEOs in Oncology in 2025
- James R. Downing (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital)
- Crystal S. Denlinger (National Comprehensive Cancer Network – NCCN)
- Emer Cooke (European Medicines Agency – EMA)
- Karen Knudsen (Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy)
- Philip Kantoff (Convergent Therapeutics)
- Samarth Kulkarni (CRISPR Therapeutics)
- Nancy Daly (Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation)
- Shane Jacobson (American Cancer Society – ACS)
- Selwyn M. Vickers (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center – MSKCC)
- Susanne Wollaert (International Society of Pediatric Oncology – SIOP)
- Dean Crowe (Rally Foundation)
- Lacy Hubbard (Elekta Foundation)
- David K. Lee (Servier Pharmaceuticals)
- Peter Pisters (MD Anderson Cancer Center)
- Vivek Kavadi (American Society for Radiation Oncology – ASTRO)
- Dame Cally Palmer (The Royal Marsden)
- Alessandro Jacques Cortese (European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology – ESTRO)
- Brian J. Druker (Knight Cancer Institute)
- Alicia Zhou (Cancer Research Institute – CRI)
- Benjamin L. Ebert (Dana Farber Cancer Center)
- Fabrice Barlesi (Gustave Roussy)
- Ishtar Espejo (Aladina Foundation)
- Hiroyuki Okuzawa (Daiichi Sankyo)
- Gemma Peters (Macmillan Cancer Support)
- Marzia Zambon (Europa Donna)
- Jennifer Buell (MiNK Therapeutics)
- Barbara Ewals (International Society of Geriatric Oncology – SIOG)
- Pietro Presti (Sharing Progress in Cancer Care – SPCC)
- Harout Semerjian (Geron)
- Elisabetta Zanon (European Cancer Organisation – ECO)
- Julie A. Freischlag (AH Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center)
- Karen Kelly (The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer – IASLC)
- Paul Hudson (Sanofi)
- Asem Mansour (King Hussein Cancer Center)
- Denis Lacombe (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer – EORTC)
- Binay Shah (Binaytara)
- Zhong Huijuan (Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group)
- Stephen D. Nimer (Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center)
- Robert A. Bradway (Amgen)
- Humaid Al Shamsi (Burjeel Cancer Institute ( BCI ) Comprehensive Cancer Center)
- Peter L. Slavin (Sedars-Sinai)
- Isabel Mestres (City Cancer Challenge – C/Can)
- Majid Al Fayyadh (King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre)
- Tracey O’Brien (Cancer Institute NSW)
- Scott Howard (Resonance)
- E. Anders Kolb (Blood Cancer United)
- Michael M. Morrissey (Exelixis)
- Robert Stone (City of Hope)
- Pascal Soriot (Astrazeneca)
- Michael Baumann (German Cancer Research Center – DKFZ)
- Chris Boerner (Bristol Myers Squibb – BMS)
- Andrew Spiegel (Global Colon Cancer Association)
- Sujuan Ba (National Foundation for Cancer Research – NFCR)
- Candace Johnson (Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center)
- John-Arne Røttingen (Welcome Trust)
- Park Seung-woo (Samsung Medical Center)
- Belén Garijo (Merck)
- Joe Apgar (Pelotonia)
- George Kapetenakis (Hellenic Cancer Federation – ELLOK)
- Anjee Davis (Fight Colorectal Cancer)
- Sobhi Skaik (Gaza Cancer Center)
- Julian Adams (Stand Up To Cancer)
- Madeline Bell (CHOP – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)
- Mahmoud Hammad (Nasser Institute of Oncology and Nuclear Center)
- Matthew Reed (Marie Curie UK)
- Gianrico Farrugia (Mayo Clinic Cancer Center)
- Vasant Narasimhan (Novartis)
- Michael Sapienza (Colorectal Cancer Alliance)
- Albert Bourla (Pfizer)
- Roger Spencer (The Christie NHS Foundation Trust)
- Donna McKay (Breast Cancer Research Foundation – BCRF)
- David Scott (Cancer Grand Challenges)
- Dan O’Day (Gilead Sciences)
- Arthur Kaindl (Varian)
- Adam Garone (Starlight Children’s Foundation)
- Renata Brandtnerova (European Society of Gynecological Oncology – ESGO)
- Kevin B. Mahoney (University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center)
- Miyo Yamashita (Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation)
- Jemma Arakelyan (Institute of Cancer and Crisis – ICC)
- Todd Harper (Cancer Council Australia)
- David A. Ricks (Eli Lilly)
- Ingrid Stenstadvold Ross (Norwegian Cancer Society)
- Yitshak Kreis (Sheba Medical Center)
- Joaquin Duato (Johnson & Johnson)
- Yujiro S. Hata (IDEAYA Biosciences)
- Dorothy Keefe (Cancer Australia)
- Thomas J. Lynch Jr (Fred Hutch)
- Roman Kizyma (Western Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Centre)
- Yaw Bediako (Yemaachi Biotech)
- Ilya Tsimafeyeu (Bureau for Cancer Research)
- Omolola Salako (Pearl Oncology Specialist Hospital)
- Ashley Magargee (Genentech)
- Samir N. Khleif (Georgiamune)
- Young Ho Yoo (Celltrion)
- Selin Kurnaz (Massive Bio)
- Richard Paxman OBE (Paxman Scalp Cooling)
- Christian Ntizimira (ACREOL Global)
- Michael Bailey (AVEO Oncology)
- Terry Rosen (Arcus Biosciences)
- Ying Huang (Legend Biotech)
You can read about our honorees in the short articles dedicated to them by following their names.
See also:
The 100 Most Influential People in Oncology in 2025
100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to Follow on Social Media in 2025
