Mark Lievonen

Mark Lievonen is the former President of Sanofi Pasteur Limited, the Canadian vaccine division of Sanofi, which he joined in 1983. Under his leadership, Sanofi Pasteur has become a billion-dollar enterprise in Canada, manufacturing over 50 million doses of vaccines for both domestic and international markets.

A veteran of the industry for over 30 years, Mark began his career in Finance and rose through Sanofi Pasteur’s ranks, guiding the company through a number of significant milestones and initiatives. He notably spearheaded a cancer vaccine program in 1997 and supported the key launch of a five-component pertussis vaccine, which is still widely used today.

Beyond his work in the biopharmaceutical industry, Mark has always been a passionate advocate for public health access, education, and giving back to the community. He is a former Chair of the Markham Stouffville Hospital Foundation, and served as an ex-officio member on the Markham Stouffville Hospital Board. He is also the founder of the Sanofi BioGenius Canada, a program that has fostered young scientists for more than 20 years – giving over 5,500 students a chance to pursue groundbreaking and career-defining projects in the field of biotechnology.

Mark’s contributions to the biopharma industry, economic development and the community have earned him much recognition. Among the honours he has received are the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medallions, Lifetime Achievement Awards from Life Sciences Ontario and the Pharmaceutical Sciences Group, and an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University. A recent career highlight was his appointment to the Order of Canada in 2015.

Mark holds a BBA in accounting and an MBA in finance and marketing from the Schulich School of Business, York University. He is a Chartered Accountant and received his designation while working with PricewaterhouseCoopers prior to joining Sanofi Pasteur. He was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in 2007.