William N. (Bill) Hait, MD, PhD, was Executive Vice President, Chief External Innovation, Medical Safety and Global Public Health Officer at Johnson & Johnson. In this role, he was responsible for leading external sourcing and creation of transformational innovation to help Johnson & Johnson achieve its mission to improve human health.

Prior to this, Dr. Hait served as Global Head, Johnson & Johnson External Innovation, where he built an enterprise-wide external R&D pipeline, creating innovative solutions utilizing the Company’s excellence in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer products. He first joined Johnson & Johnson in 2007. Under his leadership, the company launched more than 20 new products and numerous line extensions, transforming the lives of millions of people around the world.

Before joining Johnson & Johnson, he was the founding Director of the (Rutgers) Cancer Institute of New Jersey. From 1993 to 2007 he was Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and Associate Dean for Oncology Programs at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Bill graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He then received medical and doctoral degrees from the Medical College of Pennsylvania (former Women’s Medical College), received house staff and fellowship training at the Yale New Haven Hospital and joined the Yale University School of Medicine faculty in 1984. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology.

Dr. Hait has devoted time to numerous advisory and editorial boards and served in a range of scientific functions and committees including the Board of the American Association for Cancer Research and the Board of Scientific Advisors of the National Cancer Institute. He is currently a member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Director's Advisory Board, Board of External Advisors for the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, the Stand Up to Cancer Scientific Advisory Board, the Board of Directors of Research! America, Vanderbilt University Biomedical Science Advisory Board, and the National Academy of Medicine’s President’s Advisory Council on Healthy Longevity.

He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts and received numerous awards and honors, including the Burroughs Welcome Award in Clinical Pharmacology and election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation.

Dr. Hait joined the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA Board of Directors in 2022.