Robert B. Ford is an American businessman and the thirteenth chief executive officer at Abbott Laboratories, a publicly-traded medical devices and health care company based in Abbott Park, Illinois.

[1] He received a bachelor's degree from Boston College and an MBA from Haas School of Business.

[5] On March 31, 2020, Ford became the chief executive officer of Abbott Laboratories, elected unanimously by the company's board.

[8] At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ford led the company's COVID-19 testing development and distribution.

[11] In April 2020, Chief Executive recognized Ford for Abbott's response to accessibility for testing.