Chris Viehbacher holds German and Canadian nationalities. He is a graduate of the Queens University (Ontario, Canada) and a certified public accountant.
After beginning his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, between 1988-2008 he acquired broad international experience in Europe, in the United States and in Canada with the GlaxoSmithKline company. In his last position, Viehbacher was president, pharmaceutical operations North America, a member of the board and co-chair of the portfolio management board.
As of December 1, 2008, Viehbacher is a sanofi-aventis board member, CEO and a member of the strategy committee.
Viehbacher is a board member of PhRMA in the United States.
Viehbacher is married with three children. He speaks French, English and German; he lived in France for nine years and was made a knight of the French Legion of Honor in 2003.