John Castellani

If his track record is any indication, PhRMA picked a strong advocated. When Castellani left, the group had a combined workforce of nearly 10 million employees and $5 trillion in annual revenues, and it often leads policy debates, advocating for a strong global economy. Business Roundtable companies donated more than $7 billion annually in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly 60 percent of total corporate giving. They spent more than $70 billion annually on research-and-development, accounting for more than a third of the total private R&D spending in the U.S.

Directorship magazine named Castellani among the 100 most influential people in corporate governance in 2007, citing the financial power of the Business Roundtable and Castellani's strong influence as a lobbyist.

In Their Own Words

"There are no trivial issues here. We are unlike other organizations; we don't cover every issue. We cover things that are top of the mind of chief executive officers."

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