Thomas N. Kendris
US Country President, Global Head, Litigation, and President of Novartis Corporation
Thomas N. Kendris is Novartis’ US Country President, Global Head, Litigation, and President of Novartis Corporation. In his role as Novartis’ US Country President, Tom is responsible for all Novartis corporate functions represented in the United States. He has oversight of 14,000 associates across Novartis US group companies including Innovative Medicines (East Hanover, NJ) and Sandoz (generics, Princeton, NJ) as well as the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (Cambridge, MA). He is also Chairman of the Novartis U.S. Country Leadership Team, leading Novartis’ country strategy for government relations and external affairs, as well as accountability for Novartis’ corporate reputation in the US.
From 2012 through 2019, Tom was Novartis’ US Country Head of Legal, and had country-level responsibility for Legal across all Novartis US Divisions. In that role, Tom acted as chief legal advisor to the US Novartis Group of companies. In his current role as Global Head of Litigation, Tom is accountable for leading Novartis Group material litigations and investigations globally.
In his more than 25 years with Novartis, Tom has served as Vice President and General Counsel of US Pharma at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, as well as Global General Counsel for Novartis Oncology and for Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. Prior to those General Counsel positions, Tom counseled the U.S. Transplant and Mass Market Business Units. Tom joined Ciba Geigy, a predecessor company of Novartis, in 1995.
Before joining Novartis, Tom was a litigator with the law firm of Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon. Tom’s focus in his private practice was white-collar criminal defense and intellectual property litigation representing Nintendo. Prior to that, Tom was in public service for nine years as an Assistant District Attorney with the New York County District Attorney’s Office, under Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morganthau. While at the Manhattan DA’s office, Tom became a Deputy Bureau Chief in the Trial Division and tried many jury trials, including the Robert Chambers case with Linda Fairstein. That case was also known as the “preppy murder” trial.
Tom received his Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from Wagner College on Staten Island. He grew up on Staten Island and graduated from Curtis High School in 1974. While in law school, he met his wife, Donna Frederick. Tom and Donna have been married 33 years and have 3 children, Amanda, Laura Tully and Thomas. Tom and Donna have two grandchildren, Leila Grace Tully and Emmett John Tully.