Sherilyn McCoy

Sherilyn McCoy is one of the most powerful women in pharma, heading J&J's work in biotech, internal medicine, and virology. Her versatility makes her a dynamo. Over three decades at the company, she has marketed skin-care products, overseen operations at home and abroad, and run the baby-products division. What gives McCoy cred with the firm's scientists is that she's one of them: A chemical engineer by training, she started in the R&D ranks, earning five patents for her work. -- by Abha Bhattarai