We are a science and technology company dedicated to sparking discovery and elevating humanity. In our three business sectors Life Science, Healthcare and Electronics, we work together to create value on behalf of customers and patients.
Ever since we were established in 1668, we have continuously reinvented ourselves and adopted a long-term mindset. This approach is rooted in responsibility, care and respect: for our work, our employees, our customers, patients, society, and our planet. We are committed to working toward a better future and delivering sustainable progress for humankind.
The founding family, now in its 13th generation, is still the majority owner. This is made possible by the structure of our company as a corporation with general partners (Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien – KGaA). In a KGaA, the total capital is divided between general partners and limited partners; the general partners are personally liable with their assets, while the limited partners are liable with their contributions. The founding family holds a 70.274% stake in the listed MERCK Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, Darmstadt, Germany (Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) as a general partner via the Group’s ultimate parent company, E. Merck Kommanditgesellschaft, Darmstadt, Germany. The remaining 29.726% of the share capital of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is traded on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and other stock exchanges.
The assessment of business development and the allocation of financial resources are carried out uniformly by the entire management of the company for the Life Science, Healthcare and Electronics business sectors as well as the Group’s Enabling Functions. In addition to the Chair of the Executive Board and CEO Belén Garijo, the Members of the Executive Board are Matthias Heinzel, CEO Life Science, Peter Guenter, CEO Healthcare, Kai Beckmann, CEO Electronics, and Helene von Roeder, Chief Financial Officer.
We hold the global rights to the company name and brand. The only exceptions are Canada and the United States. In these countries, we operate as MilliporeSigma in the Life Science business, as EMD Serono in the Healthcare business and as EMD Electronics in the Electronics business.
Apart from our three business sectors, our financial reporting presents five regions: Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. As of December 31, 2024, we had 62,557 employees1 worldwide. The figure as of December 31, 2023, was 62,908 employees1.
We have summarized further details on our employees and important sustainability topics, as well as the key indicators used to monitor sustainability and the degree to which we have achieved our strategic goals, in the “(Group-) Sustainability Statement”.
For fiscal 2024, we exercise the option of publishing the Statement on Corporate Governance on the Group’s website in accordance with section 315d HGB in conjunction with section 289f (1) sentence 2 HGB.
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1 Our company also employs people at sites of subsidiaries that are not fully consolidated. This number refers to people employed in fully consolidated subsidiaries excluding employees of HUB Organoids Holding B.V., Netherlands, whose acquisition was completed on December 23, 2024.