Novartis: Karen L. Hale
Novartis has appointed Karen L. Hale as Chief Legal Officer. She will report to Vas Narasimhan, M.D., CEO of Novartis: and become a member of the Executive Committee of Novartis as of May 15.
Hale will be based at the company’s headquarters in Basel, Switzerland and succeeds Shannon Klinger (who is moving to Moderna - see next slide). Tom Kendris will continue as Chief Legal Officer ad interim until Hale joins the company.
Hale has more than 20 years of global legal and compliance experience in the pharmaceutical industry. She joins Novartis from AbbVie where she most recently held the role of Vice President, Deputy General Counsel; while she was previously Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at the company, leading the global compliance program and acting as an advisor to AbbVie’s Executive Leadership Team and Board of Directors.
Hale joined Abbott in 1997 and transitioned when AbbVie was created. Prior to joining Abbott, she was an associate attorney with the law firm Sidley & Austin in Chicago, Illinois.
Hale earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University and a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the College of William and Mary in Virginia.