Arthur D. Levinson

Arthur D. Levinson
Born	(1950-03-31) March 31, 1950 (age 74) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Washington (BS) Princeton University (PhD)
Occupation(s)	CEO of Calico Chairman of Apple Inc.
Known for	Chairman of Apple Inc.[1] Founder and CEO of Calico
Spouse	Rita May Liff
Children	2
Scientific career
Fields	Oncology, Virology, Immunology, Biochemistry
Institutions	Calico
Thesis	Identification and Characterization of Adenovirus Tumor Antigens (1977)
Doctoral advisor	Arnold J. Levine

Arthur D. Levinson (born March 31, 1950) is an American businessman and is the chairman of Apple Inc.^[2] (2011–present) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Calico (an Alphabet Inc. venture). He is the former CEO (1995–2009) and chairman (1999–2014) of Genentech.

In addition to the board of Apple Inc. (2000–present), Levinson is on the board of directors of the Broad Institute.^[3] Previously, Levinson had been on the board of directors at Hoffmann-La Roche (2010–2014), NGM Biopharmaceuticals (2009–2014), and Amyris Biotechnologies (2009–2014). He is on the Board of Scientific Consultants of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Industrial Advisory Board of the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), the advisory council for the Princeton University Department of Molecular Biology and the advisory council for the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics.^[4]

Early life and education

Born to a Jewish family,^[5] the son of Malvina and Sol Levinson, he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1972 and his PhD in biochemistry from Princeton University in 1977.

Career

Levinson was a postdoctoral researcher with Nobel Prize winners J. Michael Bishop and Harold Varmus in the department of microbiology at the University of California, San Francisco, when Herb Boyer hired him to work at Genentech.^[6] Levinson joined Genentech in 1980 as a research scientist and became vice president of research technology in 1989; vice president of research in 1990; senior vice president of research in 1992; and senior vice president of research and development in 1993. Levinson became Genentech's chief executive officer in 1995 and chairman in 1999.^{[citation needed]} Levinson received corporate leadership awards from the Irvington Institute^{[citation needed]} and the National Breast Cancer Coalition in 1999.^[7]

Levinson was inducted into the Biotech Hall of Fame at the 2003 Biotech Meeting of CEOs. BusinessWeek named Levinson one of the "Best Managers of the Year" in 2004 and 2005, and Institutional Investor named him "America's Best CEO" in the biotech category four years in a row (2004–2007). Levinson served on the board of directors of Google from 2004 to 2009.^[8]

In 2006, Princeton University awarded Levinson the James Madison Medal for a distinguished career in scientific research and in biotechnology.^[9] Also in 2006, Barron's recognized Levinson as one of "The World's Most Respected CEOs", and Louis Carter, CEO and founder of Best Practice Institute placed Levinson on its "25 Top CEOs" list upon approval of his Senior Executive Board. In 2008 Levinson was elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Glassdoor rated him as the "nicest" CEO of 2008 with a 93% approval rating.^[10]

In 2010, Levinson was honored with the Biotechnology Heritage Award from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the Chemical Heritage Foundation, and the Director's Award from the San Francisco Exploratorium.^[11][12]

Levinson has authored or co-authored more than 80 scientific articles and has been a named inventor on 11 United States patents.^[4]

On November 15, 2011, Levinson was named chairman of the board for Apple Inc., replacing Steve Jobs.^[13][14]

On September 18, 2013, Levinson was named CEO of Calico, a new company focusing on health and well-being. The company was created and funded by Google.^{[citation needed]}

In 2014 he received the Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus Award from the University of Washington, the highest honor bestowed upon a Washington graduate.^[15]

On October 3, 2014, Levinson received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nation's highest honor for achievement and leadership in advancing the fields of science and technology.^[16]

In April 2016, Levinson was awarded the 2016 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of California, San Francisco for his contributions to the scientific community.^[17]

As of May 2021, he owns approximately 4.5 million Apple shares worth US$786 million.^[18]

In 2020 he received the Bower Award for Business Leadership of the Franklin Institute.^[19]

Personal life

He married Rita May Liff on December 17, 1978, they have two children and reside in the Seattle area. His son, Jesse Levinson, is currently CTO of Zoox.^[20]

See also

• Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

References

1. Press Info - Apple Leadership Archived September 25, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Apple. Retrieved on 2013-11-24.
2. "Apple Leadership". Apple.
3. "Apple Names Arthur D. Levinson Chairman of the Board". (Press release) Apple Inc. November 15, 2011.
4. "Arthur Levinson Chairman of Genentech Inc". Broad Institute. June 28, 2010.
5. Rosenbaum, Fred Cosmopolitans: A Social and Cultural History of the Jews of the San Francisco Bay Area" Nov 2009
6. Levine, Daniel S. (December 19, 2004). "Executive of the Year: Arthur Levinson drives Genentech". San Francisco Business Times.
7. "Past Awards and Recognition". Genentech. Archived from the original on August 28, 2011.
8. Aamoth, Doug (October 12, 2009). "Genentech's (And Apple Board Member) Arthur Levinson Leaves Google Board". Techcrunch.
9. "The James Madison Medal". Alumni Association of Princeton University. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
10. "Glassdoor.com Lists Naughtiest and Nicest C.E.O.'s of 2008". The New York Times. December 26, 2009.
11. "Awards and Recognition". Genentech.
12. "Biotechnology Heritage Award". Science History Institute. May 31, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
13. Caulfield, Brian. "Genentech's Art Levinson Replaces Steve Jobs As Chairman Of Apple's Board". Forbes.
14. Definitive Proxy Statement. Sec.gov. Retrieved on 2013-11-24.
15. "ALUMNI SUMMA LAUDE DIGNATI". University of Washington.
16. "President Obama Honors Nation's Top Scientists and Innovators". whitehouse.gov. October 3, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2016 – via National Archives.
17. "Art Levinson Honored by UCSF Graduate Division at 2016 Alumni Weekend". UCSF Graduation Division. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
18. "Ownership & Insiders:AAPL". Fidelity.
19. Bower Award 2020
20. "$800 Million Says a Self-Driving Car Looks Like This". Bloomberg News. July 17, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2020.

Business positions
Preceded by Steve Jobs	Chairman of Apple 2011–present	Incumbent