Amy W. Schulman
Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
Amy W. Schulman is an accomplished business leader, widely recognized for growing and stabilizing global businesses, commitment to people, strategic judgment, and efforts to advance women and promote inclusive workplace cultures.
Ms. Schulman joined Harvard Business School’s Faculty as a Senior Lecturer in July 2014. In 2014, Ms. Schulman also joined Polaris Partner’s Boston office, simultaneously assuming the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Arsia Therapeutics, a Polaris-backed company which was acquired by Eagle Pharmaceuticals in 2016. In 2015, Ms. Schulman cofounded Lyndra, where she is CEO. She became CEO and Executive Chair of Olivo Laboratories in 2017, and also serves as Executive Chair of SQZ Biotech.
Previously, Ms. Schulman led Pfizer Inc.’s $4 billion Consumer Healthcare business, which operates in 90 countries and includes well-known brands such as Advil, Centrum, and Chapstick. She also served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Pfizer Inc. Ms. Schulman originally joined Pfizer in 2008 as General Counsel and saw the company through its $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth, the largest pharmaceutical acquisition in history. In 2009, she spearheaded an innovative approach to engaging outside counsel and became recognized as a leading voice for transforming the billable-hour model and for redefining the value of legal services.
Before joining Pfizer, Ms. Schulman was a partner at DLA Piper, where she was a member of the Board and Executive Policy Committees, and built and led the international law firm’s mass tort and class-action practice handling some of the most complex legal, scientific and regulatory challenges facing the world’s largest and most reputable companies, including Kraft, Altria, Cisco, GE Healthcare, and Pfizer. She began her career in litigation with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
Ms. Schulman's accomplishments have earned her accolades from leading publications and organizations. The American Bar Association honored her with the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement award in 2012. In 2013 Fortune magazine named her one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business.” That same year, The American Lawyer named her one of the “Top 50 Innovators,” and The National Law Journal named her one of “The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America.” She was also included in Fierce Biotech’s 2014 "Top 15 Women in Biotech" and Scientific American’s 2015 "Worldview 100 List."
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wesleyan University, Ms. Schulman earned her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1989. She serves on the Board of Directors of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Blue Buffalo, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, and the Whitehead Institute.
- Cases and Teaching Materials
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- Snowberg, Erik, Trevor Fetter, and Amy W. Schulman. "The Business of Pain: Johnson & Johnson and the Promise of Opioids (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 720-423, December 2019. View Details
- Snowberg, Erik, Trevor Fetter, and Amy W. Schulman. "The Business of Pain: Johnson & Johnson and the Promise of Opioids." Harvard Business School Case 720-420, December 2019. View Details
- Goldberg, Lena G., Rebecca Henderson, and Amy W. Schulman. "A Short Note on Fiduciary Duties." Harvard Business School Technical Note 320-079, December 2019. (Revised December 2020.) View Details