J. Mark Lievonen is the former President of Sanofi Pasteur Limited, the Canadian vaccine division of Sanofi, which he joined in 1983. Under his leadership, he guided the company through several significant milestones and initiatives – notably spearheading a cancer vaccine program in 1997 and supporting the key launch of a five-component pertussis vaccine which is still widely used today.
Lievonen has served many industry organizations throughout his career. Currently, he is a Director of Oncolytics Biotech Inc., Quest PharmaTech Inc., the Gairdner Foundation and the Public Policy Forum. He has also been Chair of numerous organizations and the Vice-Chair of Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. He was also a founding member and the Vice-Chair of YORKbiotech.
Lievonen is a passionate advocate for public health access, education, and giving back to the community. His roles in this capacity include serving as former Chair of the Markham Stouffville Hospital Foundation, serving on the York University Board of Governors and as a Director of the York University Development Corporation. He is also the founder of the Sanofi Biogenius Canada, a program that has fostered young scientists for more than 20 years.
Among the honours Lievonen has received are the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medallions and Lifetime Achievement Awards from Life Sciences Ontario and the Pharmaceutical Sciences Group. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2015, named a Chevalier de l’Ordre National de Mérite by the government of France in 2007, and was inducted into Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame in 2013.
Lievonen holds a BBA in accounting, an MBA in finance and marketing from the Schulich School of Business and in 2015 received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University. He is a Chartered Accountant and was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in 2007.