Merck has promoted Stefan Oschmann to the position of Deputy CEO and Vice Chairman of the Executive Board. Concurrently, Belén Garijo has been appointed to the Executive Board to take over leadership for the Pharma business. The management changes will become effective as of 1 January, 2015.
Oschmann, currently CEO Pharma, will represent Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Executive Board. Both will share strategic management functions and will represent the company with politicians and international organisations.
As a member of the Executive Board, Garijo, currently CEO of Merck’s biopharmaceutical division Merck Serono, will take on responsibility for the whole Pharma business. Besides Merck Serono, this includes Consumer Health, Allergy and Biosimilars.
'With today’s management decisions we strengthen Merck’s leadership team and prepare the ground for continuity to reach our ambitious growth targets until the year 2018 and beyond,' said Johannes Baillou, Chairman of the Board of Partners of E. Merck.
'Stefan Oschmann who has successfully reorganised our pharma businesses over the past years will familiarise himself with Group-wide functions and will increasingly assume external responsibilities for the company. Belén Garijo has many years of experience in the pharma industry, has proven that she can further develop our business organisation and in her future role will provide a significant contribution to ensure the sustainable success of our pharma businesses.'
Oschmann has been a member of the Executive Board of Merck since January 2011 and is responsible for the Merck Serono and Consumer Health divisions, as well as the business units Allergopharma and Biosimilars.
Before joining Merck, he worked for MSD (in the US and Canada, Merck & Co.). There he was most recently President of Emerging Markets. His prior positions at MSD included Member of Senior Management and Corporate Officer with responsibility for the business in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Canada, Senior Vice President in charge of Worldwide Human Health Marketing, as well as Vice President of Europe and the German business. Before that, he held various positions in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and eastern Europe.
Prior to joining MSD, Oschmann worked for the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1985 to 1987 and for the German Animal Health Federation (BfT) from 1987 to 1989.
Belen Garijo
Garijo has been President and CEO of Merck Serono since October 2013. She joined Merck Serono as Chief Operating Officer in 2011.
Before joining Merck, she was employed by Sanofi-Aventis as Senior Vice President Global Operations Europe, serving as a member of the Management Committee of the Sanofi-Aventis Group and of the Management Board of the Sanofi-Pasteur vaccines joint venture with MSD. In 2011, she took on the additional role of Global Integration Leader for the Genzyme acquisition.
From 2003 to 2006, she was General Manager of Aventis Spain, subsequently leading the merger of Sanofi-Aventis in 2004. From 2000 to 2003 she served as Global Vice President Oncology at Aventis and from 1996 as Director of the Oncology Business Unit in the predecessor company Rhône-Poulenc Rorer.
Prior to this she worked in R&D for eight years, initially as the Medical Director of the Abbott Laboratories Spanish affiliate, before moving to lead International Medical Affairs at the Abbott headquarters in Illinois, US.
