Michael Riordan. Source: https://engineering.washu.edu/offices-services/alumni/McKelvey-Engineering-Award-Years/1996.html
Johns Hopkins University. Photo: Art Anderson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johns_Hopkins%27_Historic_Dome_-_panoramio.jpg)
Harvard University. Photo: chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sanders_theater_2009y.JPG)
Industrial Bank of Japan. Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Industrial_Bank_of_Japan_Head_Office_in_1950s.JPG)
Gilead Sciences. Photo: Coolcaesar, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:333_Lakeside_Drive.jpg)
Johns Hopkins University. Photo: Art Anderson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johns_Hopkins%27_Historic_Dome_-_panoramio.jpg)
Harvard University. Photo: chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sanders_theater_2009y.JPG)
Industrial Bank of Japan. Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Industrial_Bank_of_Japan_Head_Office_in_1950s.JPG)
Gilead Sciences. Photo: Coolcaesar, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:333_Lakeside_Drive.jpg)
banker consultant physician venture capitalist business executive
Michael Lee Riordan was born on September 26, 1957, in Wichita, Kansas, to Hugh Desaix Riordan and Jan Mary Brick Riordan. He was raised in Wichita and developed an interdisciplinary academic and professional profile spanning biology, chemical engineering, medicine, international affairs, and business.
Riordan studied at Washington University in St. Louis, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, both in 1979, graduating summa cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Washington University, founded in 1853, had developed a broad research and professional education tradition in St. Louis; during Riordan's student years he also held a Langsdorf Fellowship, represented students on the university's Board of Trustees, and swam on the varsity team.
He continued at Johns Hopkins University, receiving a Doctor of Medicine and a Master of Arts in International Affairs in 1984. Johns Hopkins, founded in 1876, joined research-intensive medicine with graduate study in international policy through its School of Medicine and School of Advanced International Studies. Riordan completed a Master of Business Administration at Harvard University in 1986. Harvard, established in 1636, provided the management education that complemented his scientific and medical training.
Riordan began his professional career as a defense analyst with Systems Research and Application System in Arlington, Virginia, from 1983 to 1984. During the same period of international and public-health formation, he served as a Henry Luce Scholar from 1979 to 1980, with an assignment connected to the Philippine Ministry of Health that included work in malnutrition clinics and public-health projects in northern Luzon, the Visayas, Mindanao, and Manila.
From 1984 to 1985, Riordan worked as a biotechnology consultant at Arthur D. Little in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Arthur D. Little, founded in 1886, was one of the earliest management-consulting firms and became known for linking industrial research with business strategy. In 1985 he worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company in Los Angeles, and in 1986 he was a commercial banker with the Industrial Bank of Japan in Tokyo.
Riordan joined Menlo Ventures in Menlo Park in 1986 as a venture capitalist. Menlo Ventures was a technology-focused venture-capital firm whose early investments reflected the expansion of Silicon Valley's semiconductor, software, and biotechnology sectors. His experience in technology finance helped lead to the creation of Gilead Sciences, which he founded in Foster City, California, in 1987.
Riordan served as Gilead's president and chief executive officer from its founding until 1996 and became chairman in 1993. Gilead initially pursued antisense and other genetic technologies before shifting toward small-molecule antiviral development; its research and licensing strategy later supported treatments for serious viral diseases, including cytomegalovirus and HIV-related illness. In 1996 he transferred day-to-day management of the company, and he remained chairman until 1997.
Riordan later became chairman of Beaufort Twelve Holdings, a diversified holding company emphasizing emerging-technology investments. His professional work has continued to connect biotechnology, medicine, venture capital, and technology commercialization.
Riordan founded Gilead Sciences in 1987 and guided its development from a venture-backed biotechnology start-up toward a commercial company focused on antiviral medicines.
As Gilead's founding chief executive, Riordan helped establish a research and licensing strategy that supported the company's early antiviral programs and its first approved product, VISTIDE for cytomegalovirus retinitis.
Riordan co-authored a major naval resources study for the U.S. Center for Naval Warfare Studies, examining manpower, strategic materials, energy, industrial capacity, and shipbuilding requirements for an expanded fleet.
(Co-authored with Paula M. Pitha-Rowe as a chapter in Inte...)
1985(Co-authored with Richard W. Hunter for the Center for Nav...)
1983(Speech delivered by Riordan as founder and chief executiv...)
1990Riordan's public statements about biotechnology emphasize scientific skepticism, quality control, evidence-based decision-making, and the practical value of transferring discoveries from research institutions into medical treatments. His approach to biotechnology joined scientific innovation with long-term investment and the development of therapies for severe viral diseases.
Riordan has belonged to scientific, engineering, medical, international-affairs, and academic organizations. His memberships include the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York Academy of Sciences, Sigma Xi, Phi Beta Kappa, and Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society.
His international-affairs connections include life membership in the Council on Foreign Relations, membership in the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and twelve years of service on the Advisory Council of the International Crisis Group. He was also associated with the United States-Japan Society and the Lincoln Club of Northern California.
American Association for the Advancement of Science , United States
Life member.
Council on Foreign Relations , United States
International Institute for Strategic Studies , United Kingdom
Served on the Advisory Council for twelve years.
International Crisis Group , Belgium
United States-Japan Society , United States
American Chemical Society , United States
American Institute of Chemical Engineers , United States
New York Academy of Sciences , United States
Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society , United States
Sigma Xi , United States
Phi Beta Kappa , United States
Lincoln Club of Northern California , United States
Riordan has described rigorous critical evaluation of scientific theories and research reports as an important habit developed during his university education. His public writings about Gilead emphasize scientific evidence, quality, and the translation of research into treatments for severe disease.
Quotes from others about the person
A Washington University account described Riordan as an unusually active student who combined dual scientific degrees, student governance, varsity swimming, and later biotechnology entrepreneurship.
Riordan is the son of Hugh Desaix Riordan and Jan Mary Brick Riordan. His professional and scholarly connections include colleagues and collaborators in biotechnology, medicine, international affairs, and venture capital.
