Joaquin Duato

Duato grew up in Valencia, Spain. His career in health care was influenced by his family. His mother was a nurse, his grandfather was a pediatrician, and his grandmother a pharmacist. Duato speaks English, Spanish, and Italian. He received a Master of Business Administration from ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, and a Master of International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix, Arizona. Duato is a dual citizen of Spain and the US.

In 1989, Duato began his career with Johnson & Johnson, joining Janssen Pharmaceuticals in Spain. After moving to the US in 2002, Duato was appointed executive vice president, worldwide chairman, pharmaceuticals in 2011. His growth strategy led to the turnaround of Johnson & Johnson’s struggling pharmaceutical business in the early 2000s.

In 2018 when he was promoted to vice chairman of Johnson & Johnson’s executive committee, he led the pharmaceuticals and consumer product divisions and oversaw supply-chain and technology operations. He also was interim Chief Information Officer.

Duato was appointed CEO in August 2021 which became effective in January 2022. He was also appointed to the company’s board of directors. In November 2022, he was elected chairman, effective January 2023. Duato oversaw the separation of Johnson & Johnson's consumer health segment, now an independent publicly traded company, Kenvue. During this time, Duato was the executive sponsor of the company's African Ancestry Leadership Council.

In 2023, Duato was the highest paid CEO of the major pharmaceutical companies, earning $28.4 million, a 117% increase over 2022.

Duato is married, with two adult children, and lives in Pennsylvania.

He is the brother of actress Ana Duato, uncle of actor Miguel Bernardeau, and cousin of dancer Nacho Duato.