CEO Today USA Awards

CEO Today USA Awards 2019 www.ceotodaymagazine.com - M A S S A C H U S E T T S - 59 UDIT BATRA CEO of Merck ABOUT UDIT BATRA Udit Batra is Chief Executive Officer of the €6.2 billion Life Science business of Merck and a member of the Merck Executive Board. In addition to leading Life Science, Udit has Board responsibility for the company’s global Information Technology function. He also oversees the Merck Bioethics Advisory Panel. Born in New Delhi, India, Udit is an accomplished executive who has dedicated his career to improving health for people globally, bringing more than 20 years’ experience in healthcare and the life sciences. After Udit became CEO of Merck’s Life Science business in 2014, he and his team developed and executed a growth strategy that included the 2015 acquisition of chemicals and technology giant Sigma-Aldrich. Udit architected and led this merger — the largest acquisition in the history of Merck and one of the largest ever in the life science industry. Today, Udit continues to lead the business through a strategic transformation that has made the Life Science business of Merck a top-three player in the industry and an employer of choice in many regions where it operates around the world. The Life Science business was named to The Boston Globe’s annual “Top Places to Work” list in 2016 and 2017, as well as the Boston Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” list in 2019. It received an exclusive certification as a top employer in North America by the independent Top Employers Institute in 2018 for the second year in a row. Also under Udit’s leadership, the Life Science business has earned several prestigious awards for innovation, including the R&D 100 Award for Top Innovations in 2016; a Life Science Industry Award from BioInformatics in 2016 and an R&D 100 Award for Corporate Responsibility in 2017. Udit has earned a well-deserved reputation for driving business growth and turnarounds, as well as building high-performing teams. Previously, as head of the global Consumer Health business of Merck, he and his team more than doubled the profitability of the business, making it the then fastest-growing sector within the company. Earlier in his career, Udit served in a range of leadership positions at Novartis, a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company. In addition to leading Corporate Strategy and Global Public Health and Market Access for Vaccines and Diagnostics, he also served as president of theAustralia Pharma business. During his tenure, this subsidiary became the fastest-growing business amongst competitors in Australia and in Novartis. Prior to that, Udit held senior positions in the healthcare, consumer and non-profit practices at McKinsey & Company, a global strategy and consulting company. Udit earned both a Ph.D. and a B.S. in chemical engineering from Princeton University and the University of Delaware, respectively. He started his career as a research engineer fellow at Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, where he worked on vaccines and small molecules. He has received multiple honors and awards, including nationally competitive, recognized fellowships at Merck & Co., DuPont and Mitsubishi. He serves as the chairman of the Massachusetts High Technology Council and as a board member of the Boston Chamber of Commerce and MassBio. FIRM PROFILE Our purpose is to solve the toughest problems in life science by collaborating with the global scientific community – and through that, we aim to accelerate access to better health for people everywhere. We provide scientists and engineers with best-in-class lab materials, technologies and services. With the 2015 combination of Merck Millipore and Sigma-Aldrich, we now have a broad portfolio of 300,000 products, an expanded global footprint and an industry- leading eCommerce platform - SigmaAldrich.com. We are dedicated to making research and biotech production simpler, faster and safer. www.merckmillipore.com