In the summer of 2016, John Houston retired from his role at Bristol Myers Squibb after a successful 29-year career in the pharmaceutical industry. Seeking a break from the world of big pharma, he spent several months traveling and seeing friends and family, without actively planning his next career move.  

Over the following year, John fielded inbound interest from a variety of companies in the biopharmaceutical space, but none of them really captured his imagination. He was looking for a company with a unique technology and innovative culture that diverged from the big pharma landscape. 

When John met Tim Shannon to learn about a preclinical company called Arvinas, though, he was immediately intrigued. “It was the state-of-the-art technology that we believe is going to bring the next generation of medicines to patients with unmet need, but also a very fun culture,” he says. “A culture where people drive innovation. So, everything they do more or less is the first time it’s being done. That’s a great atmosphere to be in.” 

Today, John is incredibly proud to lead a team that is driving growth and development both scientifically and culturally. He believes that building bonds of trust within the team and keeping employee health and morale high are essential to achieving our goals.  

As we embark on the next decade of drug discovery, John is convinced that Arvinas’ relentless pursuit of excellence will empower us to tackle national health problems and develop novel therapies that can transform patients’ lives.  

“Innovation is good,” he says, “but executing on it and being excellent at what you do, for me, is what defines a top-class company.”