Merck KGaA. (9/12/23). "Press Release: Merck Appoints Axel Löber as Head of Global Communications and Stakeholder Engagement". Darmstadt.

	Organisation	Merck KGaA
	Group	Merck (DE) (Group)
	Organisation 2	Eon (Group)
	Product	public relations / investor relations / marcom (services)
	Product 2	LIFE SCIENCES
	Person	Löber, Axel (Merck (DE) 202311– Head of Global Communications + Stakeholder Engagement before E.ON + Merck)
	Person 2	Schwarzer, Sabia (Merck (DE) 202201– Head of Group Communications, Brand + Corporate Affairs before 25y at Allianz)

Sabia Schwarzer has taken the decision to leave Merck to be closer to her family in the United States

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that Axel Löber will take over as Head of Global Communications and Stakeholder Engagement, as of November 1, 2023. He will report to Belén Garijo, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck. Axel Löber is not new to Merck, as he spent eight years with the organization prior to his most recent role at E.ON, a leading European energy company.

As the Senior Vice President of Global Brand & Marketing for E.ON, his responsibilities included the international marketing activities, market research and the customer experience strategy. Axel Löber’s tenure at Merck spanned from 2011 to 2018, during which he held various roles, including Global Head of Branding & Communication Strategy. In this capacity, he led the transformational and multi-award-winning rebranding of Merck in 2015 as well as the subsequent external and internal brand communication campaigns. Prior to that, he held various roles in strategy and financial communication at pharmaceutical wholesaler and pharmacy operator Celesio and communications consultancy Hering Schuppener. Axel Löber holds a degree in German literature, political science and psychology.

“I am delighted that, as Axel Löber returns to Merck, he brings with him a broad spectrum of communications expertise along with deep institutional knowledge of the Merck brand. His skillset and strong potential will contribute to the implementation of Merck’s robust growth strategy in the coming years. We look forward to working together and warmly welcome Axel Löber back to Merck,” said Belén Garijo, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck.

Axel Löber succeeds Sabia Schwarzer, who has taken the decision to leave the company to be closer to her family in the United States, effective October 31, 2023. “During her time at Merck, Sabia Schwarzer led a significant transformation of the Communications function while at the same time realizing substantial efficiencies. Under her leadership, Merck’s reputation took a leap forward resulting in the German Image Award in 2023. I would like to thank Sabia Schwarzer for bringing her people-centric leadership and passion for storytelling to our company. We wish her all the best,” Belén Garijo continued.

For more information, please contact Friederike Segeberg
+49 6151 72-6328
Email

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About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics. More than 64,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From providing products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2022, Merck generated sales of € 22.2 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as MilliporeSigma in life science, EMD Serono in healthcare, and EMD Electronics in electronics.

Record changed: 2024-01-20