“There’s something to be said when you have nothing to prove.” — William H. Carson, MD
William H. Carson, MD is a pharmaceutical executive, corporate director, physician and innovator whose career has spanned medicine, drug development, organizational leadership, governance, technology and the arts.
A board-certified psychiatrist, Dr. Carson began his career in academic medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina before entering the pharmaceutical industry. He spent more than two decades in the industry, first with Bristol-Myers Squibb and later with Otsuka, ultimately serving for nearly a decade as President and CEO of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization.
His leadership helped advance and commercialize major medicines across neuroscience, nephrology and digital medicine, including the blockbuster therapies Abilify, Abilify Maintena and Rexulti, as well as Jynarque and Abilify MyCite, the first digital medicine approved by the FDA. Among his most consequential achievements, Dr. Carson built the pediatric development program for Abilify that secured FDA pediatric exclusivity, extending the product’s patent protection and returning significant earnings to the enterprise. In recognition of his contributions, Otsuka included him in its 100th Anniversary Hall of Fame in Tokushima, Japan.
Today, Dr. Carson serves as an independent director of Annexon Biosciences, where he chairs the Science and Technology Committee, and an independent director of Lutron Electronics, where he chairs the Human Resources and Compensation Committee. He is also Chairman of the Sozosei Foundation, the charitable foundation of Otsuka in the U.S. His board experience spans public and private companies, biotechnology, technology and philanthropy, with extensive leadership across science and technology, executive compensation, governance and audit.
Born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, by two schoolteachers, Dr. Carson attended segregated schools until middle school before graduating from Harvard College and earning his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University. His path through medicine, science and business has been shaped by both opportunity and lived experience, and throughout his career he has remained committed to excellence, access and creating space for others to lead.
Dr. Carson is a member of The Executive Leadership Council and a recipient of the Native Son Award, recognizing his leadership and impact within the Black community. In 2025, he delivered the Jerry M. Wiener, MD Endowed Lecture in Psychiatry at George Washington University, reflecting on four decades of change across psychiatry, medicine, technology and industry.
Beyond science and business, he has been a longtime champion of the arts. Dr. Carson is Board Chair Emeritus of the Sphinx Organization and received the Sphinx Medal of Excellence in 2020. He was also a producer of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Strange Loop, which received Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical.
His career continues to span science, governance, philanthropy and culture, grounded in a lifelong commitment to expanding what is possible for patients, institutions and future generations.
