Executive Board Changes at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

• Kai Beckmann to assume responsibility for the Performance Materials business sector
• Walter Galinat takes over responsibility for the Darmstadt site, Procurement as well as Environment and Quality

The Personnel Committee of E. Merck KG, Darmstadt, Germany, has decided on changes in the responsibilities of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, effective September 1, 2017.

Walter Galinat (61) will hand over responsibility for the Performance Materials business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, to his Executive Board colleague Kai Beckmann (51). In return, Galinat will take on Executive Board responsibility for the Darmstadt site, Procurement as well as Environmental Protection, Quality and Safety.

“With these changes to the Executive Board, we are underscoring personnel continuity within the Board while setting the course for the future of Performance Materials,” said Johannes Baillou, Chairman of the Board of Partners of E. Merck KG, Darmstadt, Germany, and its Personnel Committee. In addition, in his new role Galinat will further advance both the construction and organizational preparations for the 350th anniversary celebration of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in 2018.

“Over the past decade, Walter Galinat has led Performance Materials from one success to the next. We are very grateful to him for this. At the same time, we are pleased to continue building on his vast wealth of experience,” said Baillou. “As an experienced member of the Group’s Executive Board, Kai Beckmann has extensive business, technological and international expertise, among other things from the very important Asian market. For him and for Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, the aim now is to build on the long and successful development of Performance Materials, leading it into the future in times of increasingly dynamic developments in the liquid crystals market.”

Belén Garijo (57), CEO Healthcare, will additionally take over Executive Board responsibility for Group Human Resources from Kai Beckmann. Udit Batra (46), CEO Life Science, will be responsible for Business Technology, in other words the IT landscape of the Group. In addition to his role as Chief Financial Officer, Marcus Kuhnert (48) will be responsible for the Group’s Business Services, a newly formed unit.

CVs of the Members of the Executive Board can be found here.