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Since becoming Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in May 2021, Belén Garijo has transformed the company to strengthen its position as a global science and technology leader. She has mobilized the organization for long-term growth and aligned more than 62,000 colleagues across 65 countries to unlock customer, patient, and societal value. 

She joined Group´s Healthcare business sector in 2011 and became its President and CEO in 2015. During her tenure, she led the turnaround of the Healthcare business and its strategic shift to become a global player in oncology and immunology by repositioning the portfolio, reorganizing R&D, and realigning the commercial model. She also forged major global alliances that further contributed to the Healthcare portfolio's value and fostered the business's globalization to focus more on the U.S., Japan, and other high-growth markets.   

Before joining Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, she served as the Senior Vice President of Global Operations Europe at Sanofi-Aventis, leading the integration of Genzyme after its acquisition. She previously held several local and global executive positions in R&D and commercial at various companies at the forefront of the healthcare sector. After working in Madrid, Chicago, New Jersey, Barcelona, Paris, and Geneva, she is now based at the headquarters of the Company in Darmstadt.  

Since 2022, Belén has been included on the international annual lists of Most Powerful Women published by Fortune and Forbes. In 2022, she received the German Diversity Honorary Award and was designated an Honorary Brand Ambassador for Spain by King Felipe VI. In 2024, she received the John M McCloy Award from the American Council on Germany for helping build strong transatlantic relations and her dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion.   

Belén was born on July 31, 1960, in Almansa, Spain. She is a medical doctor specialist in clinical pharmacology and began her career as a practicing physician at La Paz Hospital, Madrid.   

External positions  

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., (publicly listed company), External Board Director   
• EU-Japan Business Round Table, EU-side Chair  
• German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), Member of the Executive Committee  
• European Round Table for Industry, Member  
• The Business Council, Active Member  
• Board member of Lóreal, April 2014 to 2024  

Responsibility for Enabling functions  

• Group Legal & Compliance  
• Group Internal Auditing  
• Global Communications  
• Group Strategy, M&A and Venturing  
• Group Science & Technology Office