Kenneth Frazier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kenneth Frazier
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Kenneth Carleton Frazier
December 17, 1954 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Education | Pennsylvania State University, University Park (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
| Occupation | Executive chairman, Merck & Co. |
Kenneth Carleton Frazier (born December 17, 1954) is an American business leader. He is the executive chairman of the large medicine-making company Merck & Co.. He was also the company's CEO (Chief Executive Officer), which is the highest leadership role.
Mr. Frazier is famous for being the first African American man to lead a major company in the medicine industry. He first joined Merck as its main lawyer. He helped the company through a major legal challenge over one of its medicines.
Because of his influence, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in both 2018 and 2021.
Contents
Early Life and Schooling
Kenneth Frazier was born in North Philadelphia on December 17, 1954. His father, Otis, worked as a janitor. Growing up, one of Frazier's heroes was Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice.
Sadly, Frazier's mother passed away when he was only twelve. He was a very bright student and went to Julia R. Masterman School and Northeast High School. He graduated high school when he was just 16 years old.
He then went to Pennsylvania State University. To earn extra money during college, he had a unique job: he raised tadpoles and newts and sold them to local pet stores. After finishing at Penn State, he went to the famous Harvard Law School and graduated in 1978.
Career Journey
Working as a Lawyer
After law school, Frazier started working at a law firm in Philadelphia called Drinker Biddle & Reath. In 1991, he took on a very important case. He was asked to defend a man named James Willie "Bo" Cochran, who had been wrongly accused of a crime and was sentenced to be executed.
Frazier and his team worked hard on the case. In 1995, a high court overturned Cochran's conviction. When the case was tried again in 1997, Cochran was found not guilty. Frazier had helped save an innocent man's life after he had spent 19 years in prison.
Leading a Major Company
While working as a lawyer, one of Frazier's biggest clients was Merck & Co., a major company that develops and sells medicines. In 1992, Merck hired him to be its general counsel, or top lawyer.
As general counsel, he faced a huge challenge. The company was sued by many people who said one of its medicines, Vioxx, had caused serious health problems. Instead of quickly paying to settle the lawsuits, Frazier decided to defend the company in court. This was a big risk, but it ended up saving the company a lot of money.
His success led to big promotions. In 2010, he was named president of Merck. On January 1, 2011, he became the CEO. This made him the first African American to lead a major pharmaceutical company.
As CEO, Frazier made sure Merck invested in research to find new medicines. He especially wanted to find better treatments for Alzheimer's disease, an illness his own father had suffered from. He also focused on helping people in developing countries get the medicines they need. In 2021, he retired as CEO but stayed on as the executive chairman of the board.
Other Important Work
Frazier has used his position to speak out on important issues. He serves on the boards of several organizations, including the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Helping Penn State
In 2011, Frazier was asked to lead a special investigation at his old school, Pennsylvania State University. The university was dealing with a major scandal, and Frazier's job was to help figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. It was a difficult task, but he took on the leadership role to help the university move forward.
Standing Up for His Beliefs
In 2017, Frazier was part of a group of business leaders who advised the U.S. president. However, after a protest involving hate groups in Virginia, he decided to resign from the group. He said he disagreed with the president's response to the event. Frazier stated that leaders must "clearly reject expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy."
In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, Frazier spoke about the challenges Black Americans face. He said that what happened to George Floyd could have happened to him. In August 2020, he and his wife, Andréa, donated $5 million to help create a program to fight strokes in African American communities.
See also
- Raymond Gilmartin
