E Merck KG’s board of partners has announced the appointment of new CEOs to Merck KGaA’s executive board in a pivotal step in the company’s ongoing growth strategy.
Jean-Charles Wirth will become Life Science’s CEO from 1 June 2025. He is currently leading science and lab solutions within the company’s Life Science business sector.
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He takes over from Matthias Heinzel, who has been instrumental in steering the Life Science business sector towards sustainable growth, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wirth’s association with the company dates back to 2006. He held various leadership positions, contributing significantly to the Life Science business sector’s growth.
Danny Bar-Zohar will assume the role of healthcare CEO on the same date, succeeding Peter Guenter, who is retiring after an almost four-decade career in the pharmaceutical industry.
Bar-Zohar is currently global head of research and development (R&D) and the healthcare business sector’s chief medical officer.
His tenure at the company began in 2020 as development global head. His experience in the pharmaceutical industry includes previous roles at Novartis, Syncona Investment Management and Teva Pharmaceuticals.
He has been pivotal in transforming the R&D organisation at Merck since 2022, fostering a “drug-hunter mindset” and supervising external innovation and business development.
Both Wirth and Bar-Zohar will undergo a 90-day transition period with their predecessors to guarantee a smooth handover.
The company’s chief human resources officer Khadija Ben Hammada will join the executive board in the new position of chief people officer effective from 1 March 2025. Her responsibilities will encompass quality and trade compliance, corporate sustainability, in-house consulting and site management of the company’s headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany.
Merck CEO and executive board chair Belén Garijo stated: “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.
“As One Merck, the executive board will remain sharply focused on securing long-term profitable growth across our three sectors.”
In July 2024, Merck KGaA entered a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Gene Therapy Research Institution for gene therapy production to treat Parkinson’s disease.
