Daniel O'Day Net Worth: Gilead CEO Earns $31 Million In His First Year

Daniel O’Day’s net worth is around $5.3 million. His company’s task of battling the pandemic virus could be a possible game changer.

O’Day is the CEO of Gilead since March 2019. He was once a part of Roche Pharmaceuticals but decided to take on a new challenge. As a veteran from Roche, he was viewed as a qualified and safe pick for the Gilead position by experts.

Gilead rolled out the red carpet for him. He reportedly received a total of $31 million during his first year as company head. The package consisted of $16 million yearly compensation and $14.2 million, the amount he gave up from accepting the new role from his previous company, as per Bloomberg Law.

As with other CEOs, O’Day’s compensation is tied up with performance-based bonuses and millions worth of stock options. According to Business Insider, when compared to former CEO John Milligan’s compensation, there was a considerable wage gap since he only received around $15.4 million.

Daniel O’Day has a track record of bringing in global deals. His arrival came at a crucial time when Gilead was having a leadership crisis. Former CEO John Milligan filed his resignation barely four months into the position. Other high ranking officials such as chief scientific officer Norman Bischofberger and chairman John Martin have also left during this time.

Gilead is focusing now on cancer after making profits for producing cure for hepatitis C. Among the many tasks of O’Day is to turn things around as quickly as possible and find new ways to make profits. Cancer is not among Gilead’s area of specialty, but it has silently been doing its research and studies on the matter.

The biotech company is also racing against time to find a cure for COVID-19. The pandemic has practically paralyzed countries all over the world as governmets implement enchanced community quarantines to avoid the spread of the deadly virus.

One of the options Gilead is looking at is remdesivir. It was used before against the Ebola virus but could not contain it. However, specialists are looking if it can be used to beat COVID-19. If Gilead wins the race in finding the cure to coronavirus, it could be a major milestone to O’Day’s stint as company CEO.

The world awaits the results of clinical trials first done in China but remdesivir showed massive potential. Even U.S. President Donald Trump is pinning his hope on the drug.