Rory O’Connor is senior vice president and chief medical officer of Internal Medicine at Pfizer, where he is currently overseeing large-scale development programs which include innovative treatment technologies for chronic pain. The company has recently introduced new medicines for cancer and heart disease and delivered one billion doses of its pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar.

Born to an Irish immigrant family in Liverpool, Rory’s heritage is tied to the O’Connors of Co. Sligo and the Fieldings of Co. Waterford. He and his family visit the country frequently, and lived for five years in West Cork. He says, “I have lived and worked in many countries, but Ireland remains the home of my ancestors and my relatives.”

He received his medical qualifications from the University of Liverpool in 1978 and initially practiced in family and internal medicine. He is a fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians. In 2000, Rory assumed responsibility for medical affairs in Pfizer European operations, connecting him with the company’s Dublin office.

Rory and his wife Catherine live in New York, where he is based at Pfizer’s global HQ. Together, he and Catherine have five children: Mairéad, Ruairí, Ciara, Niamh, and Sinéad.