A 30-year veteran of the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, Zahir’s notable contributions include commercializing several billion-dollar pharmaceuticals as well as medical devices for glucose monitoring, medical nutrition, and critical care.
In his last role before retiring from Abbott International, he was Vice President of International Marketing, responsible for all aspects of brand marketing, including for Humira, the No.1 product in the world at more than $10 billion in sales. He also handled new product development, portfolio management, life cycle management, licensing, and business development. Earlier in his career, he was responsible for global commercial operations for Abbot’s Diabetes Care Division and was president of Abbott Japan. He also ran Abbott’s Central & East Europe and Scandinavia divisions, where he was responsible for successfully integrating the Knoll acquisition into single Abbott entities.
He currently works as a consultant for Melinta, SonarMed, mHealthCoach, Cyclica, Hagen Pharma, CreatiVasc Medical, Prime Life Fibers, and Physician Software Systems and serves as a mentor to medical device startups through the Chicago Innovation Mentors group and Hyde Park Angels. He is a member of the review committee for the University of Chicago’s Innovation Fund at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Zahir obtained his MBA from the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, and received both his MSc. and BSc. degrees in Pharmacology and Sciences respectively from the University of Toronto.
