Sylvia Varela has been the country president of AstraZeneca Mexico since 2016. She has over 25 years of professional experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with extensive general management responsibility over broad portfolios and multiple geographies in Latin America. Varela has been responsible for leading country and regional operations overlooking over 15 markets, with a demonstrated track record of outstanding business results and sustained market leadership positions. Besides running day-to-day operations, her tenure has been characterized by creating win-win partnerships with key public and private sector stakeholders, developing and executing pioneering patient-centric programs, expanding access to innovation for new patient populations, increasing organizational engagement through transformational work/life balance and inclusion initiatives, and strengthening corporate reputation as employer of choice for the attraction and retention of top talent. Before joining AstraZeneca, Varela held a number of in-country and regional posts at Pfizer, including country manager for Central America and the Caribbean, Colombia, and the Andean Region, and president of Pfizer Oncology for Latin America. During that time, she also held several industry leadership positions, including vice president and president of the Colombian R&D Pharma Industry Association (AFIDRO) and president of the Central American Federation of Pharmaceutical Laboratories (Fedefarma). Varela has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Costa Rica and post-graduate studies in business administration from National University.