On April 14, 2026, the Anthropic Long-Term Benefit Trust announced the appointment of Vas Narasimhan to the Board of Directors of Anthropic. Narasimhan is the Chief Executive Officer of Novartis and a physician-scientist who shares the view that healthcare and life sciences are key areas where artificial intelligence can substantially improve quality of life.
Why the appointment matters
Anthropic is a Public Benefit Corporation, and its Board is chosen by shareholders and the Long-Term Benefit Trust. The Trust is an independent body whose members do not hold a financial stake in Anthropic; its purpose is to keep the company’s governance balanced between financial success and the public benefit mission of developing AI for the long-term benefit of humanity. With Narasimhan’s appointment, directors appointed by the Trust now constitute a majority of the Board.
Narasimhan’s background and what he brings
Under Narasimhan’s leadership at Novartis, teams have overseen the development and approval of more than 35 novel medicines, a practical experience Daniela Amodei, Anthropic’s Co-founder and President, highlighted as valuable for the company. Anthropic emphasizes safely and at scale delivering powerful new technologies to people, and Narasimhan’s career in medicine, innovation, and global health aligns with that focus.
Early in his career, Narasimhan worked on HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis programs in India, Africa, and South America, and he continues to advocate for access and global health priorities.
Affiliations and roles
Vas Narasimhan is an elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves on the University of Chicago board of trustees and the board of fellows at Harvard Medical School. He previously chaired the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and remains on its board of directors.
Board composition
Narasimhan joins Dario Amodei, Daniela Amodei, Yasmin Razavi, Jay Kreps, Reed Hastings, and Chris Liddell on the Anthropic Board of Directors. Neil “Buddy” Shah, Chair of Anthropic’s Long-Term Benefit Trust, said the Trust’s role is to appoint directors who will ensure Anthropic balances its commitments to shareholders and its public benefit mission responsibly as the company grows.
Implications
Bringing an executive with extensive experience in developing and approving regulated medicines onto the board gives Anthropic additional expertise for evaluating how to deploy consequential AI technologies responsibly in areas like healthcare and life sciences.
