David Eherts, Vice President Global EHS; Allergan plc

David Eherts oversees the worldwide EHS function for Allergan, plc, a rapidly evolving branded pharmaceutical company, ranked #1 by Forbes in its list of top 17 global large cap ($50+ billion) pharma companies.

Since 2014, Eherts guided Allergan in decreasing global total recordable incident rate significantly (39% reduction 2016 vs. 2015; 36% reduction 2015 vs. 2014; and, a 48% reduction 2014 vs. 2013). It was accomplished by adopting a new view strategy of encouraging visible leadership and strong employee engagement, i.e. over 1,000 management-led site walk-throughs annually and a Good Observation rate for Operations’ employees of 225%. In addition, $25M in investments was approved to eliminate unsafe conditions and exposure to potent pharmaceuticals globally, the investments yielded strong returns. Eherts led similar environmental successes as the company is now recognized as a leader in Sustainability and CSR as evidenced by the 2015 Newsweek Green Ratings (#2 greenest of all companies in US, #3 globally), EPA Energy Star Partner of the Year, listing on the DJSI and the CDP Annual Report.

Prior to Allergan, Eherts has worked over 35 years in the fields of Safety and EHS starting as a toxicologist in Pre-Clinical Drug Safety Assessment at Merck. He moved to EHS and has held positions of increasing responsibility at Merck, sanofi-aventis, Purdue Pharmaceuticals and most recently, Aviation and Product Safety at Sikorsky Aircraft as their Vice President and Chief Safety Officer. His experience and expertise span aviation, environmental toxicology, occupational health, potent compound control and management systems in the aerospace, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Eherts holds Bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Biology and a Masters and PhD in Environmental Toxicology from Drexel University.

Externally, Eherts has served on the Federal Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee at the appointment of the U.S. Secretary of Labor. He also serves on the advisory board for ORCHSE’s Executive Business Issues Forum, on their New View of Safety Taskforce and on the board of directors for Occupational Knowledge International (an NGO dedicated to preventing overexposures to toxic chemicals in developing countries). In his spare time, he's an adjunct professor at New York Medical College and at Tulane University where he teaches courses in EHS Management, Environmental Toxicology, Finance, Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Health.