No. 3: Kenneth Frazier

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In the race to develop a vaccine against the COVID-19 at a record pace — or as the Trump administration has called it, warp speed — Merck has trailed Pfizer and Moderna, which are in the process of getting emergency federal approval for their vaccines.

But in all other senses, the 125-year-old drugmaker is a global powerplayer. And as its chief executive officer, Frazier will play an integral role in ensuring New Jersey lives up to its title as the “medicine chest of the world.”

Frazier joined Merck in 1992 as vice president, general counsel and secretary of the company’s joint venture with Astra AB. He spent the next two decades climbing up the ladder within Merck, becoming the company president in 2010 and then CEO the year after. And that makes him one of the first African Americans to head a major pharmaceutical company.

His expertise has not just been recognized by NJBIZ. He was named Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2018. And he was tapped by Gov. Phil Murphy for the Restart and Recovery Commission, tasked with gauging how the economy and public life in New Jersey could safely transition back to a “new normal” once the pandemic has subsided.

“As a company proudly headquartered in New Jersey, Merck recognizes our responsibility to help the state respond to this pandemic,” Frazier said in late April. “[W]ith input from thoughtful people, including scientific and health care experts, we will be able to recommend a responsible path forward to reopen the economy while continuing to keep New Jersey citizens safe.