Pascal Soriot

AstraZeneca against Pfizer. Soriot, AstraZeneca's chief executive, and chairman Leif Johansson rejected Pfizer's approach of about £69 billion in 2014, arguing it undervalued the drug pipeline and would cut research, and promising strong future sales instead. Pfizer walked away under UK takeover rules. Investors who backed the defence were later rewarded as AstraZeneca's cancer drugs and value grew strongly, a rare case where saying no clearly paid off.