William C. Steere Jr.

William C. Steere Jr. (born June 17, 1936) is a former chief executive officer of Pfizer. He is also a member of the board of directors of the New York Botanical Garden.^[1] While Steere was CEO of Pfizer, the company acquired Warner-Lambert and brought to market blockbuster drugs including Viagra, Zoloft, and Zithromax.^[2] His decision to triple research expenditures in 8 years, to $2.2 billion, was cited as a reason for the prosperity of Pfizer during his tenure,^[3] a period in which sales of the company doubled.^[4]

William C. Steere Jr.
Born	(1936-06-17) June 17, 1936 (age 89)
Education	Stanford University (1959)
Known for	Former Pfizer CEO
Spouse	Lynda Gay Powers (m. January 29, 1957)
Children	3 sons
Father	William C. Steere

Early life and education

Steere was born in 1936 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.^[5] Steere's father, William C. Steere, was an American botanist known as an expert on bryophytes. In 1959, Steere graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Biology.^[1]

Career

Upon graduation in 1959, Steere began a career at Pfizer as a medical service representative.^[5] He became Director of Marketing for Pfizer Latin America in 1969.^[5] In 1972, he became Vice President-General Manager of Roerig, a division of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.^[5] He became vice president of Pfizer Laboratories in 1980, Corporate Vice President of Pfizer in 1983, President of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in 1986,^[5] President of Pfizer in 1990 and chief executive officer from 1991 to 2000. In 2011, he retired from the board of directors of the company.^[2]

Board memberships

Between 1997 and 2007, Steere was a member of the board of directors of Dow Jones & Company.^[6] From 1999 to 2010, he was a member of the board of directors of MetLife.^[7]

Steere was a member of the executive committee of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; a member of the board of overseers of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and of The Business Roundtable; and a director of the Council on Competitiveness, the New York University Medical Center, WNET, The Business Council, Texaco, and the New York Botanical Garden. He served as a class B director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, having been elected for a three-year term ending December 31, 1995.^[5]

Personal life

Steere married Lynda Gay Powers on January 29, 1957. They have 3 sons.

While working at Pfizer, Steere resided in Darien, Connecticut.^[8]

Steere enjoys scuba diving and spearfishing and lives in Bonita Springs, Florida, where he owns a boat and a marina.^[4]

Steere has made campaign contributions, most of which were to members of the Republican Party.^[9]