Sharon Olmstead is the Global Head of Development & Regulatory Policy at Novartis. She first joined Novartis in 1997, in their FDA Liaison Office. From 2002 until returning to Novartis in 2011, she held leadership positions at Merck, Schering-Plough, and Pharmacia. She built a foundation for her future roles working at the FDA for six years in science policy, consumer affairs, and consumer safety. Sharon holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Old Dominion University in Virginia.