Merck: New CEOs for Life Science and Healthcare business sectors and New Chief People Officer

Jean-Charles Wirth (51), who currently heads Science & Lab Solutions within Merck's Life Science business sector, will become CEO Life Science as of June 1, 2025. He succeeds Matthias Heinzel (58), who has successfully set the Life Science business sector on a sustainable growth path during the extremely challenging phases of the pandemic. He has decided to not renew his contract with the company to serve on the boards of public companies and to pursue his interest in private equity.

Danny Bar-Zohar (54), currently Global Head of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer of the Healthcare business sector, will take on the position of CEO Healthcare, as of June 1, 2025. He succeeds Peter Guenter (62) who has decided to retire from Merck after a successful career spanning almost 40 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Peter Guenter will continue to serve on the boards of public companies and pursue further opportunities in private equity.

Jean-Charles Wirth and Danny Bar-Zohar will have a 90-day transition with their predecessors to ensure a seamless handover for Merck’s global businesses.

Khadija Ben Hammada (44), Merck’s Chief Human Resources Officer, will join the Executive Board in the newly created role of Chief People Officer as of March 1, 2025. She will also be responsible for Corporate Sustainability, Quality & Trade Compliance, Inhouse Consulting, as well as Site Management of the company headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany. Her appointment to the Executive Board – which increases the board to six people – illustrates the relevance of people and talent for the long-term growth, resilience and sustained success of Merck.

“We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Matthias Heinzel and Peter Guenter for their years of service to our company. Matthias Heinzel successfully steered the Life Science business sector while resetting its strategy and operating model, implementing a strong senior leadership team and setting the business on a sustainable growth path. Under Peter Guenter’s leadership, our Healthcare business sector has set a clear strategic roadmap and delivered significant organic sales growth in every single quarter throughout his tenure as Healthcare CEO, coupled with achieving record EBITDA levels,” said Johannes Baillou, Chairman Executive Board and Family Board of E. Merck KG. “We warmly welcome Jean-Charles Wirth, Danny Bar-Zohar and Khadija Ben Hammada to the Executive Board of the company they already know so well. They bring deep expertise in their fields, strong leadership complemented by diverse backgrounds, international exposure and an innovative outlook that will further enrich our company.”

“I join Mr. Baillou in extending my gratitude to Matthias Heinzel and Peter Guenter for their leadership and contribution at a very critical time in our journey. And I am delighted to welcome three proven internal leaders to join me on the Executive Board along with Kai Beckmann, CEO Electronics, and Helene von Roeder, Chief Financial Officer. As a value compounder, Merck is focused on resilient growth, innovation, and people. The nomination of the next generation of leaders is testimony to the strong bench of global and diverse talents we have developed in recent years at Merck,” said Belén Garijo, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck. “As One Merck, the Executive Board will remain sharply focused on securing long-term profitable growth across our three sectors.”

Jean-Charles Wirth joined Merck in 2006 and is the Global Head of the Science and Lab Solutions business unit, which is the largest division within the Life Science business sector with more than €4 billion in sales. Prior to taking on that role in 2022, he held several roles of increasing responsibility in the company, including Head of Applied Solutions business unit, Chief Financial Officer for Life Science, where he played an active role in its transformation from a €2.3 billion to €6 billion solutions provider through a combination of organic growth, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships, and Head of Controlling for the Performance Materials sector (now Electronics). He has had oversight of multi-billion-euro P&Ls, and has led multinational teams from Operations, Commercialization and Business Development, always with a keen focus on customers’ needs. Prior to joining Merck, Jean-Charles Wirth worked for Baxter, Price Waterhouse Coopers and Alcatel Lucent. Jean-Charles Wirth is a global leader with deep expertise in finance, strategic planning, and a reputation for building energized, focused teams. He is a global citizen who has worked and lived in France, Germany, and the United States, and has spent significant time in North Africa and Asia.

Danny Bar-Zohar has served as Global Head of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer of the Healthcare business sector since 2022. In this capacity, he has been instrumental in transforming the R&D organization with a strong emphasis on creating a “drug-hunter mindset.” In addition to his oversight of R&D, he oversees External Innovation as well as Business Development for Healthcare. He joined the company in 2020 to serve as Global Head of Development. He has two decades of leadership experience in the pharmaceuticals sector, having worked previously at Novartis, Teva Pharmaceuticals and venture capital firm Syncona Investment Management. His experience includes global drug development from strategy to execution, across almost every modality in drug development, including small molecules, therapeutic proteins, antibodies and gene therapy. His visionary approach to R&D has helped to deliver multiple new global therapeutic approvals at both Teva Pharmaceuticals and Novartis. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Danny Bar-Zohar spent several years training as a general surgeon at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel and served as an airborne rescue physician in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Khadija Ben Hammada joined Merck in 2010 and has served as Chief Human Resources Officer since 2023. Since joining the company, she has held global roles in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the United States, driving transformations, major integrations and strategic initiatives across all sectors and various functions within Human Resources and beyond. She also held the role of Chief of Staff to the CEO of Merck, where she played a pivotal role in advancing a high-impact culture at Merck. Born in France, Khadija Ben Hammada has always valued learning and inclusion. She is a trailblazer in her field – representing the next generation of executives who lead with empathy and a people-first approach. As a business leader, Khadija Ben Hammada works towards a future where organizations succeed through a balanced combination of strategic leadership, sustainable practices, and a strong focus on people. Her vision is centered on fostering organizational excellence, employee upskilling, and guiding leadership development. During her tenure as Chief Human Resource Officer, her team has driven a portfolio of step-changes around leadership excellence and family-friendly benefit offerings such as enterprise-wide support for fertility and caregiving.

As of June 2025, the Executive Board of Merck will be structured as follows:

Belén Garijo, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO: Board responsibility for Global Communications / Group Internal Auditing / Group Legal and Compliance / Group Political Office / Group Science & Technology Office / Group Strategy, M&A and Venturing

Danny Bar-Zohar, Member of the Executive Board: CEO Healthcare and Board responsibility for Global Health & Health Equity

Kai Beckmann, Member of the Executive Board: CEO Electronics and Board responsibility for Patents & Scientific Information

Khadija Ben Hammada, Member of the Executive Board: Chief People Officer and Board responsibility for Group Human Resources / Inhouse Consulting / Corporate Sustainability, Quality & Trade Compliance / Site Management at the company headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany

Helene von Roeder, Member of the Executive Board: Chief Financial Officer and Board responsibility for Group Controlling / Group Financial Reporting / Group Procurement / Group Treasury / Group Tax / Investor Relations / Global Enterprise Solutions / Information Technology / Data & Digital

Jean-Charles Wirth, Member of the Executive Board: CEO Life Science