Belén Garijo is the Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck. She joined Merck in 2011 as Chief Operating Officer of the Biopharma business, becoming President and CEO of Healthcare in 2015. Before taking her current office in May 2021, Belén Garijo served as Vice-Chair of the Executive Board and Deputy CEO.

Under her leadership of the Healthcare business, Merck became a key global player in oncology, immunology, and immuno-oncology. This success followed her repositioning of the portfolio, the reorganization of R&D and the realignment of the commercial model. In addition, Belén Garijo forged two major global alliances that further contributed to the value of the Healthcare portfolio. She also focused on the globalization of the business to expand Merck`s position within the U.S., Japan, and other high-growth markets.

Before joining Merck, Belén Garijo served as the Senior Vice President of Global Operations Europe at Sanofi-Aventis and Global Integration Leader of Genzyme after its acquisition by Sanofi. She previously held several local and global executive positions, both in R&D and commercial, at various companies at the forefront of the healthcare sector.

Belén Garijo is a medical doctor specializing in clinical pharmacology. She started her career as a practicing physician at La Paz hospital in Madrid, Spain, before moving into the pharmaceutical industry.

Belén Garijo was born on July 31, 1960 in Almansa, Spain. She is married and has two daughters.