The Board of Partners of E. Merck KG appointed Belén Garijo as Vice Chairman of the Executive Board and Deputy CEO of Merck KGaA effective today. She will maintain her current Executive Board responsibilities.

“The appointment of Belén Garijo as Vice Chairman of the Executive Board and Deputy CEO recognizes her outstanding achievements for our Healthcare business and her strong leadership in the critical corporate functions Human Resources and Environment, Health, Safety, Security, Quality”, said Johannes Baillou, Chairman of the Board of Partners of E. Merck KG.

Udit Batra has decided to pursue other opportunities outside Merck. Effective today, the contract of Mr. Batra as General Partner of E. Merck KG and Executive Board Member of Merck KGaA has been resolved.

“We would like to thank Udit Batra for nine years of service to our company, his great accomplishments and strong commitment towards science and technology. Together with his team, he ensured a successful integration of Sigma-Aldrich and continuously developed our global life science business. We wish him every success and all the very best for the future”, said Johannes Baillou.

The Board of Partners of E. Merck KG will decide about a successor in due course. On an interim basis, Christos Ross will take over the Life Science business lead, reporting to Stefan Oschmann, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO. Ross joined Merck in 2008 and currently serves as Executive Vice President Integrated Supply Chain Operations within the Life Science business sector.

Belén Garijo joined Merck in 2011 as Chief Operating Officer of the Biopharma business and was appointed to the Executive Board in 2015. She is CEO of the Healthcare business and in charge of the corporate functions Human Resources and Environment, Health, Safety, Security, Quality.

Udit Batra joined Merck in 2011, took over responsibility for the Life Science business sector in 2014 and was appointed to the Executive Board in 2016. In 2017, he also assumed responsibility for Information Technology.

Marcus Kuhnert, Member of the Executive Board, Chief Financial Officer and in charge of Merck Business Services and Procurement, will in addition take over the Executive Board responsibility for Information Technology.