Joaquin Duato
| Joaquin Duato | |
| Birthplace | Spain |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American / Spanish |
| Occupation | Corporate executive |
| Title | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer |
| Employer | Johnson & Johnson |
| Known for | Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson |
Joaquin Duato is a Spanish-born American business executive who serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson & Johnson, one of the world's largest and most diversified healthcare companies. Born in Spain, Duato has spent over three decades with Johnson & Johnson, ascending through a series of leadership positions spanning multiple business segments and geographic regions before being named CEO in January 2022. Under his leadership, the company has undergone significant strategic transformation, including the separation of its consumer health division and a sharpened focus on pharmaceutical and medical technology innovation. In November 2025, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy appointed Duato as the new Chair of the New Jersey CEO Council, a body dedicated to advancing the state's economic growth.[1] As head of Johnson & Johnson, Duato oversees a global enterprise with operations in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and advanced therapies, and he has been recognized as one of the most influential CEOs in the healthcare and oncology sectors.[2]
Early Life
Joaquin Duato was born in Spain. He later relocated to the United States, where he built his career in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Details regarding his family background and early upbringing have not been extensively documented in publicly available sources.
Career
Rise Through Johnson & Johnson
Duato's career at Johnson & Johnson has spanned more than 30 years, during which he held a range of leadership roles across the company's diverse business segments. His trajectory within the organization included assignments in various international markets and functional areas, giving him broad experience in the global healthcare industry. Over the course of his tenure, he held progressively senior positions, ultimately ascending to the highest levels of the company's executive leadership.
Chairman and CEO
Joaquin Duato became Chief Executive Officer of Johnson & Johnson in January 2022, succeeding Alex Gorsky. He subsequently also assumed the role of Chairman of the Board. As Chairman and CEO, Duato leads one of the world's largest healthcare companies, overseeing operations that span innovative pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and emerging therapeutic technologies.[2]
Under Duato's leadership, Johnson & Johnson has pursued a strategy of focusing the company more tightly on its pharmaceutical and medical technology businesses. One of the most significant corporate actions during his tenure was the separation of the company's consumer health division, which was spun off as a separate publicly traded entity named Kenvue in 2023. This move was part of a broader strategic realignment aimed at concentrating Johnson & Johnson's resources on its higher-growth, higher-margin healthcare segments.
Strategic Focus on Pharmaceuticals
Duato has placed substantial emphasis on Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical portfolio, which has become the central pillar of the company's growth strategy. The pharmaceutical segment includes key products such as Darzalex, Stelara, Tremfya, and Spravato, which have driven significant revenue for the company. In October 2025, the company's strategic direction under Duato was further underscored when Johnson & Johnson announced it would sell its orthopedics business, a decision that industry observers interpreted as a signal of leadership's commitment to concentrating on the thriving pharmaceutical portfolio.[3] According to PharmaVoice, "as another J&J department bites the dust, leadership is focused on what's working in the pharma business."[3]
U.S. Manufacturing Investments
A defining aspect of Duato's tenure as CEO has been a pronounced commitment to expanding Johnson & Johnson's manufacturing footprint within the United States. In 2024, the company committed to spending $55 billion on the construction of manufacturing facilities, and Duato has continued to build on that investment trajectory.[4]
In February 2026, Johnson & Johnson announced a more than $1 billion investment in a new next-generation cell therapy manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. The facility is intended to significantly expand the company's capacity to produce advanced cell therapies within the United States, creating new jobs and bolstering domestic manufacturing capabilities in a critical area of medical innovation.[4][5][6]
The Pennsylvania investment was described by Business Chief as part of Johnson & Johnson's broader "US manufacturing push," intended to create jobs and expand production capacity for cutting-edge therapies.[5] The New Jersey Business & Industry Association also reported on the planned facility, highlighting its significance as a next-generation advanced manufacturing site.[6]
Engagement with U.S. Government Policy
Duato has been publicly engaged in discussions surrounding U.S. healthcare policy, particularly regarding pharmaceutical pricing and trade policy under the administration of President Donald Trump. In October 2025, Duato made public comments suggesting that Johnson & Johnson expected to find "common ground" with the Trump administration as industry-wide negotiations related to a most-favored-nation (MFN) pricing framework played out. According to reporting by Fierce Pharma, Duato's remarks indicated that the company was "largely aligned with many of President Donald Trump's policy goals."[7]
These comments were made in the context of broader industry negotiations over drug pricing mechanisms, an area of intense policy debate in the United States. Duato's stance reflected Johnson & Johnson's approach of seeking constructive dialogue with policymakers rather than direct confrontation, a strategy consistent with the company's long-standing engagement in Washington, D.C., on healthcare-related legislative and regulatory matters.[7]
Chair of the New Jersey CEO Council
On November 17, 2025, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced the appointment of Joaquin Duato as the new Chair of the New Jersey CEO Council. Duato succeeded Hans Vestberg, the CEO of Verizon, in the role.[1][8]
The New Jersey CEO Council is a body established to advance the state's economic growth, bringing together chief executives from major corporations headquartered or operating in New Jersey. Governor Murphy's appointment of Duato reflected the executive's stature in the business community and his role at the helm of one of the state's largest employers. Johnson & Johnson is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and is one of the most prominent corporate entities in the state.[1]
NJBIZ reported that the appointment represented a "continuing commitment to the state's economic growth," with Duato expected to leverage his position to support workforce development, innovation, and the broader business environment in New Jersey.[8]
Recognition
Joaquin Duato has received recognition for his leadership in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. In 2025, he was named to the list of the 100 Most Influential CEOs in Oncology, compiled by Oncodaily. The recognition cited his role leading Johnson & Johnson, described as "one of the world's largest healthcare companies," with a portfolio spanning multiple therapeutic areas including oncology.[2]
His appointment as Chair of the New Jersey CEO Council by Governor Phil Murphy in November 2025 served as further recognition of his influence in the corporate and public policy spheres.[1]
The strategic decisions made under Duato's tenure—including the consumer health spinoff, the orthopedics divestiture, and the multi-billion-dollar investment in U.S. manufacturing—have attracted significant coverage in pharmaceutical and business media outlets, establishing him as one of the more closely watched executives in the global healthcare industry.[3][4][5]
Legacy
While Joaquin Duato's tenure as CEO of Johnson & Johnson is ongoing, the strategic decisions made under his leadership have already reshaped the company's identity and direction. The separation of the consumer health business into Kenvue marked one of the most significant structural changes in Johnson & Johnson's history, transforming the company from a diversified conglomerate with consumer, pharmaceutical, and medical device segments into a more focused healthcare enterprise.
The decision to divest the orthopedics business further sharpened this focus, directing resources and attention toward the pharmaceutical portfolio and advanced therapies such as cell and gene therapy.[3] The more than $1 billion investment in a Pennsylvania cell therapy manufacturing facility announced in February 2026 represented a commitment to building domestic capacity in one of the fastest-growing areas of modern medicine.[4][6]
Duato's engagement with government policy—both at the state level through his role on the New Jersey CEO Council and at the federal level through dialogue with the Trump administration on pharmaceutical pricing—has positioned him as a prominent voice in discussions about the intersection of healthcare, industry, and public policy in the United States.[7][1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Murphy Names Joaquin Duato New Chair of New Jersey CEO Council".Insider NJ.2025-11-17.https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/murphy-names-joaquin-duato-new-chair-of-new-jersey-ceo-council/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Joaquin Duato Recognized Among The 100 Most Influential CEOs in Oncology in 2025".Oncodaily.2025-01-23.https://oncodaily.com/community/joaquin-duato-438921.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "J&J's orthopedics selloff keeps all eyes on a thriving pharma portfolio".PharmaVoice.2025-10-16.https://www.pharmavoice.com/news/jnj-orthopedics-selloff-pharmaceutical-stelara-darzalex-tremfya-spravato/802911/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "J&J allots $1B to Pennsylvania plant in US manufacturing push".FirstWord Pharma.2026-02-18.https://firstwordpharma.com/story/7107820.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "How Johnson & Johnson's US$1bn Plant Boosts US Production".Business Chief.2026-02-19.https://businesschief.com/news/how-johnson-johnson-us-1-bn-plant-boosts-us-production.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "J&J Planning $1B Advanced Manufacturing Facility in Pennsylvania".New Jersey Business & Industry Association.2026-02-18.https://njbia.org/jj-planning-1b-advanced-manufacturing-facility-in-pennsylvania/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "J&J chief Joaquin Duato expects to find 'common ground' with Trump administration as industry's MFN talks play out".Fierce Pharma.2025-10-14.https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/jj-chief-duato-expects-find-common-ground-trump-administration-industrys-mfn-talks-play-out.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Johnson & Johnson CEO Duato to chair New Jersey CEO Council".NJBIZ.2025-11-18.https://njbiz.com/johnson-johnson-ceo-duato-chair-new-jersey-ceo-council/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.