Merck Darmstadt: Beckmann succeeds Garijo as the chief chief of the city. The Darmstadt Merck Group is faced with a change of management: Kai Beckmann, currently head of the electronics division, will be the successor to CEO Belén Garijo on May 1, 2026, said the DAX company. Beckmann becomes deputy Merck boss with immediate effect and remains head of the Electronics division until a successor has been found. Garijo will keep her position until her term in late April 2026 to secure a seamless transition. Garijo, who has been working for Merck for 15 years and had previously been head of the pharmaceutical division for six years, navigated the group through the corona pandemic and the years of increasing crisis. “Belén Garijo successfully led Merck through turbulent years full of profound changes and brought the company back to a profitable growth course,” said Johannes Baillou, chairman of the board of E. Merck KG. With Beckmann, a “highly respected leader from his own ranks”. About the successor of the 65-year-old Garijo, who has been CEO since 2021, there has long been speculation. In addition to the Merck veteran Beckmann, CFO Helene von Roeder was traded as a candidate. Under Garijo, Merck had recently taken over the billion dollar takeover of the US Cancer Specialist Springworks Therapeutics. The self -established sales target of 25 billion euros by 2025 is out of reach. For Beckmann, the appeal on the chief post is the crowning glory of his long career at Merck: He has been working for the Darmstadt group since 1989 and has been a member of the management since 2011. Before his position as head of the electronics division, which Beckmann geared to business with the employee industry, he was chief administration officer. There he was responsible for human resources and IT and the headquarters of Merck. He is also Vice President of the Federal Association of German Employers’ Associations. (dpa)
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