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Strategic Advisor·Pharma Services

Sheri McCoy

Independent Chairperson at Parexel International Corporation

New York, NY / New Jersey, USA

SM
Why they matter

Chairs Parexel's board post-EQT/Goldman take-private and sits on AstraZeneca and Stryker boards, giving her rare cross-view of CRO/CDMO governance and big-pharma sourcing decisions.

Background

Sheri McCoy spent 30 years at Johnson & Johnson, rising to Vice Chair of the Executive Committee overseeing the pharmaceutical and consumer businesses, before serving as CEO of Avon Products from 2012 to 2018. Since leaving Avon she has built a portfolio of public-company board leadership roles spanning pharma, med-tech, and CRO/CDMO services, including Independent Chairperson of Parexel since November 2021.

Notable deals

  • 2015
    As Avon CEO, led the $605M deal with Cerberus Capital Management (16.6% equity stake plus 80.1% of Avon's North American business taken private)
  • 2018
    Appointed to Stryker Corporation's Board of Directors, later becoming Lead Independent Director in 2022
  • 2021
    Became Independent Chairperson of Parexel's Board following the $8.5B take-private acquisition by EQT Private Equity and Goldman Sachs Asset Management
  • 2022
    Appointed Chair of AstraZeneca's Remuneration Committee, joining the Nomination and Governance Committee

Call-prep brief

Background

  • 30-year J&J veteran (Vice Chair, Executive Committee — pharma & consumer) before becoming CEO of Avon Products (2012–2018).
  • Since 2018 has built a portfolio-board career: Stryker (director since 2018, Lead Independent Director since 2022), AstraZeneca (non-exec director since 2017, Remuneration Committee Chair since 2022), Galderma, and former Chairman of Certara (2019–2021) and Aldevron.

Current focus

  • Independent Chairperson of Parexel's board since the Nov 2021 $8.5B EQT/Goldman Sachs take-private — actively involved in a sponsor-owned CRO's strategy and governance, a directly relevant vantage point for pharma services / CDMO diligence.

What she cares about

  • Operational turnarounds and portfolio simplification (drawn from the Avon experience).
  • Governance discipline in sponsor-controlled companies (Parexel, former Certara chair).
  • Talent and succession — a recurring theme in her board committee work (Remuneration/Nom-Gov at AstraZeneca).

Recent moves

  • Took on AstraZeneca Remuneration Committee Chair (2022) and Stryker Lead Independent Director (2022), signaling deepening governance seniority rather than new operating roles.

Sensitivities

  • Avon's stock lost ~83% of value during her CEO tenure and she departed under activist pressure (Barington Capital) — avoid framing questions around that as a personal referendum; focus on lessons learned.
  • Sits on multiple public boards (AstraZeneca, Stryker, Parexel, Galderma) — confidentiality and conflict screens will matter for any pharma services conversation.

Questions to ask

  1. What did the EQT/Goldman take-private of Parexel change about how the CRO invests in capacity and pricing versus its public-market peers?
  2. Where do you see the biggest structural gaps in CDMO/CRO capacity relative to biopharma pipeline growth over the next 3-5 years?
  3. What governance lessons from chairing a sponsor-owned asset (Parexel, Certara) would you apply to a new pharma services platform investment?

Outreach draft

Subject
Your Parexel/CDMO governance perspective
Hi Sheri, I'm reaching out from a private equity firm building a view on the pharma services and CDMO landscape. Your vantage point chairing Parexel's board since the EQT/Goldman take-private — plus your governance seats at AstraZeneca and Stryker — would be enormously valuable as we think through capacity trends, pricing dynamics, and where the next wave of consolidation is likely to happen. Would you be open to a 30-minute call in the next couple of weeks? Happy to work around your schedule, and can share more on what we're evaluating ahead of time if useful. Best, [Placeholder Name]

Linked companies

Sources

Strongest evidencePage title7 public sourcesVerified2026-08-07How the grades work