Sylvia Varela is currently Area Vice President, Asia at AstraZeneca. Her responsibilities include leading country and regional operations for nine markets: India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Sylvia has over 25 years of professional experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with extensive general management responsibility over broad portfolios and multiple geographies. Prior to her appointment as AVP, Asia Area in 2022, Sylvia was AVP, Latin America, where she managed 15 markets and demonstrated a track record for outstanding business results and sustained market leadership positions.
Sylvia’s tenure has been characterized by creating win-win partnerships with key public and private sector stakeholders, developing and executing pioneering patient-centric programmes, and expanding access to innovation for new patient populations. Sylvia also led efforts to enhance corporate reputation and external reputation, positioning AstraZeneca as the employer of choice.
Before joining AstraZeneca, Sylvia held a number of in-country and regional posts at Pfizer, including Country Manager for Central America and the Caribbean, Colombia, and the Andean Region, and President of Pfizer Oncology for Latin America. During that time, she also held several industry leadership positions, including Vice President and President of the Colombian R&D Pharma Industry Association and President of the Central American Federation of Pharmaceutical Laboratories
Sylvia holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the National University of Costa Rica.
