#  Frans van Houten 

###  Board member since 2017 

 

 ![Frans van Houten, Board member](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/biography_detail_image_v2/public/2026-06/frans-van-houten-bio-1170.jpg?h=4cf895d5&itok=_vKGlZnY "Frans van Houten, Board member") 

 

 

**Nationality**: Dutch | **Year of birth**: 1960

Frans van Houten is passionate about purpose-driven innovation, entrepreneurship and business transformation to drive customer value and competitiveness. Under his leadership as CEO of Royal Philips, the company transformed into a leading health technology solutions company, leveraging data and informatics to improve healthcare provider results, and became a forerunner across ESG dimensions, having become carbon neutral in its operations since 2020 and recycling over 90% of its waste. Mr. van Houten was an initiator of the World Economic Forum Compact for Responsive and Responsible Leadership as well as founder and co-chair of the Platform to Accelerate the Circular Economy.

### Professional experience

- CEO and chair of the executive committee and the board of management, Royal Philips NV, Netherlands (2011‑2022)
- Interim management, ING Group NV, Netherlands (2009‑2010)
- CEO and chair of the management board, NXP Semiconductors NV (formerly Philips Semiconductors NV), Netherlands (2004‑2009)
- Various managerial positions at Royal Philips Electronics NV, Netherlands (1986‑2004)

### Mandates

##### Current:

- Board chair and chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee, Absci Corporation, US
- Board chair, Castor EDC, Netherlands
- Board member, Affidea Group, Netherlands
- Board chair, Synthesis Health Inc., Canada

##### Past:

- Member of the steering committee, European Round Table for Industry (ERT), Belgium (2014‑2022)
- Vice chair and member of the supervisory board, Philips Lighting, Netherlands (2016‑2017)

### Education

- Master’s degree in economics and business management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Bachelor’s degree in economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands

### Key skills

- Medicine/healthcare/R&D
- Environmental, social and governance (ESG)
- Data/digital
- Leadership/management
- Commercial
- Finance/accounting
- Regulatory/risk management



 



 

 

 



 

 



##  Novartis media library assets 

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 ![Frans van Houten, Board member](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/cards_1_3/public/2026-06/frans-van-houten-media-library-1.jpg.webp?itok=LSpGrKNW "Frans van Houten, Board member") 

 

###  Frans van Houten 

Board member

 

 

 ](/news/media-library/frans-van-houten-0) [ 

 ![Frans van Houten, Board member](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/cards_1_3/public/2026-06/frans-van-houten-media-library-2.jpg.webp?itok=xNce9QKP "Frans van Houten, Board member") 

 

###  Frans van Houten 

Board member

 

 

 ](/news/media-library/frans-van-houten-1)