- Stefan Oschmann appointed as Head of Pharmaceuticals business sector; Elmar Schnee leaves the company for personal reasons
- Kai Beckmann appointed member of the Executive Board responsible for the newly created Executive Board position of Human Resources
Darmstadt, December 13, 2010 - Merck KGaA announced today that Dr. Stefan Oschmann (53) will become a member of the Executive Board and General Partner of Merck KGaA. He succeeds Elmar Schnee, who leaves the company for personal reasons. In line with the duties of his predecessor, Stefan Oschmann will be responsible for both divisions Merck Serono and Consumer Health Care and personally assume the lead of the Merck Serono division as of January 1, 2011. Dr. Kai Beckmann (45) will become a member of the Executive Board and General Partner of Merck KGaA effective April 1, 2011. He will be responsible for the newly created Executive Board position of Human Resources.
"Elmar Schnee has initiated and implemented many important strategic changes in our pharmaceuticals business. After restructuring our pharmaceuticals organization in France, he was appointed to the Executive Board in 2005 and had a crucial forming influence on our acquisition and integration of the biotech company Serono back in 2007. The market exceeding growth of Merck Serono since its creation is clear proof of his success. I sincerely thank Elmar Schnee for all these achievements and wish him all the best for the future," said Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of the Board of Partners of E. Merck KG. The Board of Partners made these appointments.
Stangenberg-Haverkamp commented on the appointment of Stefan Oschmann: "Stefan Oschmann has worked for more than 20 years at the American company Merck & Co., recently as President of Emerging Markets, and has broad experience in managing international pharmaceutical markets. He is the ideal candidate to successfully drive the internationalization of Merck Serono and to advance our pharmaceutical research and development."
"Kai Beckmann has proven his management skills especially in the IT business as well as Managing Director in Singapore and Malaysia," said Stangenberg-Haverkamp. "Since 2007, he has pushed forward the modernization and globalization of our IT function in his role as Chief Technology Officer (CIO), which shows the change of our company within a function with global responsibility. We expect this experience will be valuable as member of the Executive Board responsible for Human Resources."
Elmar Schnee joined Merck in May 2003 as Managing Director of the Merck Santé S.A.S subsidiary in Lyon, France. In January 2004, he took on responsibility for the global operations of the ethical pharmaceuticals division and in November 2005 was appointed Deputy Member of the Executive Board responsible for the pharmaceuticals business sector. In 2006, he was appointed Member of the Executive Board and General Partner of Merck KGaA with responsibility for pharmaceuticals. Elmar Schnee started his career in 1980 at a Swiss advertising agency and then pursued a series of management positions in marketing and sales in the consumer goods industry. He has more than twenty years experience in the international pharmaceutical industry, gained at companies including Fisons Pharmaceutical, Sanofi-Synthélabo and UCB Pharma. Born in 1959 as native of Switzerland, Elmar Schnee studied at the Zurich-based Swiss Institute for Business Administration where he received a degree in Marketing Management.
Dr. Stefan Oschmann was born in Würzburg, Germany, in 1957. After obtaining a degree in veterinary medicine and a PhD at the University of Munich he took on a position at the International Atomic Energy Agency. In 1989 he joined the American company Merck & Co. (outside North America: MSD - Merck Sharp & Dohme). Following various positions in Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria, he was appointed Vice President of Central and Eastern Europe in 1998 and Vice President of Europe in 1999. Until 2005 Stefan Oschmann was also in charge of the German business of Merck & Co. In 2005 he moved to the headquarters of Merck & Co., taking on the role of Senior Vice President in charge of Worldwide Human Health Marketing. In 2006 he became Member of the Senior Management and Corporate Officer, in charge of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Canada. Since 2009, Stefan Oschmann served as President of Emerging Markets for Merck & Co. Stefan Oschmann is married with two children.
Dr. Kai Beckmann was born in Hanau, Germany, in 1965. After studying computer science at the Technical University of Darmstadt he started his career at Merck in 1989 as an IT consultant. After obtaining a doctorate in economics he took on several leading positions in the IT function. In 2004 he was appointed Managing Director of the Merck subsidiary in Singapore and Malaysia. In early 2007, he returned to Germany and was appointed Chief Information Officer of Merck. Kai Beckmann is married with one child.