TIME Named Diogo Rau Executive of the Year

The Lilly digital chief was honored for building the LillyPod supercomputer using Nvidia Blackwell technology.

Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Quantum Computing

Isometric editorial illustration of a modular data server rack in a clean, industrial environment, representing modern high-performance computing. — TIME has named Eli Lilly chief digital officer Diogo Rau its 2026 Executive of the Year for his work building the company's supercomputing infrastructure. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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TIME has named Diogo Rau, the chief information and digital officer at Lilly, as a 2026 Executive of the Year. The recognition highlights his leadership in integrating advanced computing power into the company's pharmaceutical development and manufacturing operations.

Why it matters

Lilly treats high-performance computing as a core component of its strategy to make medicines more efficiently. By prioritizing digital infrastructure, the firm is fundamentally transforming how it discovers and produces new therapeutic treatments.

The LillyPod supercomputer was constructed in just four months and utilizes over 1,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs. This hardware enables the modeling of complex biological processes and the virtual screening of molecules.

The players

Diogo Rau

He serves as the chief information and digital officer at Lilly and was named a 2026 Executive of the Year by TIME.

Lilly

This pharmaceutical company is integrating supercomputing and AI into its drug-making and manufacturing pipelines.

Nvidia

This technology company provides the Blackwell GPUs used by Lilly to power its high-performance computational modeling.

TIME

This media organization publishes the annual Executive of the Year awards to recognize significant leadership in business.

The details

Rau also deployed an AI-assisted digital twin for manufacturing that tests temperature and pressure variables to resolve production bottlenecks. These digital tools allow for molecule screening before any physical wet lab experiments take place.

Diogo Rau was named a 2026 Executive of the Year.
The number of wet lab scientists is projected to shift over 10 years.

The Tech Race

Lillys adoption of Nvidia Blackwell GPU architecture illustrates how modern pharmaceutical companies are leveraging high-end data center silicon to solve biological problems. This move reflects a broader industry shift where computational power is replacing traditional physical testing methods.

For the user, this technology represents a shift toward faster drug discovery and more reliable manufacturing of essential medicines. These digital advancements aim to streamline production processes, potentially reducing bottlenecks that affect the availability of pharmaceutical products.

The takeaway

The move toward computational drug-making suggests that the daily practice of scientists will change significantly over the next decade. Readers should expect the number of traditional wet lab roles to decrease as digital twin simulations take over complex molecular screening.