Dr Niedel was appointed to the board of Glaxo Wellcome plc in 1995 with responsibility for Group Research and Development. In 1998, product strategy and information systems were added to his responsibilities.

Before joining the company, Dr Niedel served as Professor of Medicine and Chief of the division of clinical pharmacology at Duke University Medical Center.

Dr Niedel received bachelor of science degrees in psychology and chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, and doctorates of medicine and biochemistry from the University of Miami. He completed an Internal Medicine residency and a Hematology-Medical Oncology fellowship at Duke University Medical Center, is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.