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Kirsten Axelsen Carmel, MS, an economist, served on the leadership team of Pfizer Inc.’s $30 billion global innovative pharmaceutical business, where she led strategy and business evaluation. She led multiple global reorganizations and developed a corporate digital strategy, a commercial emerging markets strategy, and a more patient-centric business approach. She oversaw business development evaluations in the fields of rare disease, oncology, inflammation, immunology, and primary care. Previously, Kirsten led Pfizer’s Global Policy team working with three Pfizer CEOs in relation to the Affordable Care Act and Medicare Part D in the US, health technology assessment in the EU, and quality consistency evaluation in China. She is a visiting scholar with the American Enterprise Institute and a Senior Advisor with DLA Piper and Charles River Associates. Kirsten founded the Preparedness and Treatment Equity Coalition a non-profit entity that funds innovative research to identify health reforms to reduce health inequity in the U.S. and now serves as its executive secretary. Kirsten began her career as a market analyst, became nationally recognized for healthcare policy expertise, and then shifted to strategy and business evaluation. In diverse roles, Kirsten identifies business opportunities and anticipates how other actors will respond to costs, new technology, and regulation. She works with C-suite leaders in healthcare to navigate policy, competition, and public perception for successful product launch and sustained growth and profitability. Kirsten is a marathon runner, lifelong dance enthusiast, and wife and mom. She gives back to her community by serving as a board member for Ramapo for Children, working in Ethiopia with the International Trachoma initiative, and raising funds and volunteering with multiple civic and political institutions. She climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with 26 healthcare leaders to raise $1.6 million for cancer research. Kirsten speaks and reads Spanish. She is a published author and speaker, including at the Aspen Institute, Milken Institute, industry health forums, and with media. Kirsten is a Fellow in the fifth class of the Health Innovators Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
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