Biography
Robert Weltevreden is Head of Customer & Technology Solutions (CTS) at Novartis. In this role, he leads efforts to drive innovation, simplification, and digital disruption at scale across a range of vital services, solutions and technologies for the business. In addition, CTS provides services to the company in core operating areas including human resources, information technology, procurement, real estate, finance operations and business consulting. Robert has held this position since February 1, 2021.
We aim to support the Novartis purpose of reimagining medicine by becoming the leading business solutions organization in the industry. This means proactively providing integrated solutions for Novartis business units to improve their performance and empower them to reach twice as many patients twice as fast.
In his previous role as head of Novartis Business Services (NBS), Robert transformed the provision of services and solutions across the business. The changes have made Novartis more agile, efficient and resilient, and generated savings of approximately USD 500 million that can be invested in innovation to benefit patients and help the company realize its full potential.
Robert joined Novartis in 2018 to lead NBS. With a strong finance background, he brings more than 30 years of experience in leadership positions at multinational organizations and has a record of driving successful business transformations in the life sciences industry.
As a leader, Robert is passionate about mentoring talent and is especially interested in digital technologies. His innovative approach is demonstrated by initiatives such as NBSX, an internal “edge” organization launched in 2020 to provide disruptive solutions at scale. These include a medical writing platform powered by artificial intelligence that combs through vast amounts of data to extract data for publication, as well as a fully integrated cross-functional service desk.
Originally from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Robert lives in Basel, Switzerland, with his wife and two children. He enjoys running, cycling, hiking and traveling with his family.