Ester Banque of Zoetis Elected AHI Board Chair
WASHINGTON, DC, May 14, 2024 – The Animal Health Institute’s Board of Directors today elected Ester Banque of Zoetis as Board Chair for the 2024-26 term. Banque is Executive Vice President and President, U.S. Operations for Zoetis.
Richard R. DeLuca, Jr., Executive Vice President and President, Merck Animal Health, becomes Immediate Past Chair and Joseph N. Huff, President of Colorado Serum Company was elected to another term as Treasurer.
“We are excited to welcome Ester as our new Board chair,” said AHI President and CEO Alexander S. Mathews. “Animal health and welfare contributes to important societal goals like food security and sustainability and provides important companionship benefits through the human-animal bond we have with our pets. We look forward to working with Ester to help achieve these goals by creating a regulatory and policy environment to incentivize innovation needed to meet unmet medical needs in animal health.”
“Partnership across the industry is vital for driving innovation. Assuming the role of Board chair is a responsibility I do not take lightly,” said Ester Banque. “There is a strong sense of community in animal health, which is driven by our purpose to ensure healthy animals. It falls upon us to drive policy that will enable the industry to pioneer new methods for ensuring healthy herds and fostering long, healthy and quality lives for the animals we cherish. I look forward to partnering with AHI members, and I am grateful for the leadership of my predecessor and the board for their accomplishments.”
About Ester:
Ester Banque is Executive Vice President and President, U.S. Operations for Zoetis. An accomplished global senior executive in health sciences with over 30 years of experience, Ms. Banque is known for leading businesses across the globe in top pharmaceutical companies. She joined Zoetis in 2023, following her role as Senior VP and GM at Bristol Myers-Squibb, where she orchestrated a significant portfolio transformation and led teams through major integrations. Prior to BMS, she spent 25 years at Novartis, spearheading successful blockbuster launches and leading diverse teams and organizations. Ms. Banque is also a prominent advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion, recognized with prestigious awards such as the Trailblazing Women in Pharma 2024 by Reuters Events. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Universitat Autónoma Barcelona and an MBA from IDEC/Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
