WEST LAFAYETTE— Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has appointed David A. Ricks to the Purdue University Board of Trustees, effective Jan. 1, 2025, to July 1, 2027.
Ricks is chair and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company. Under his leadership, Lilly has delivered record research and development output and innovative medicines that continue to reach more people, positioning the company for sustained growth and an expanded role in the advancement of human health.
Ricks will fill the vacancy created by the pending retirement of board chair Michael Berghoff. Trustees have elected Gary Lehman as chair and Mike Klipsch as vice chair, effective Jan. 1.
Lilly’s innovation strategy has yielded a pipeline among the most valuable in the industry since Ricks became chair and CEO in 2017. Previously, Ricks held roles that spanned functions, geographies and therapeutic areas after joining the company as a business development associate in 1996. He served as general manager of Lilly Canada, president and general manager of Lilly China, president of Lilly USA and president of Lilly Bio-Medicines.
Supporting the health innovation ecosystem and local communities is also a priority. Ricks serves on the boards of Adobe, Business Roundtable, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, The Business Council, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Council for Inclusive Innovation, and Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.
Ricks earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue in 1990 and an MBA from Indiana University in 1996. He has been awarded an honorary doctorate in pharmaceutical management from Purdue.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.
