In November 2014, Vasella was elected as a member of the board of directors at XBiotech, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company located in Austin, Texas, that focuses on the discovery and commercialization of a next generation of therapeutic antibodies which harness a human's natural immunity to fight disease. Vasella is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2004, "Time" magazine named him one of the world's 100 most influential people, and he was chosen as the Most Influential European Business Leader of the Last 25 Years by the readers of the "Financial Times". He is a former member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group.