Merck Announces Appointment of Cristal N. Downing as Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer
July 29 2021 - 12:30PM
Business Wire
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and
Canada, today announced that Cristal N. Downing has been appointed
chief communications & public affairs officer, a newly created
role, effective August 16, 2021. Downing will become a member of
Merck’s Executive Team and lead the development, advancement and
execution of the company’s communications and public affairs
strategy.
“Cristal is a transformational leader with a well-established
track record of achievement,” said Rob Davis, CEO and president,
Merck. “Cristal’s experience, business acumen, leadership
capabilities and integrity will be invaluable as we drive
productive conversations and strategic impact with a broad range of
stakeholders, double down on our promising pipeline and work to
accelerate delivery of our vital innovations to the world.”
“I am honored to become Merck’s chief communications &
public affairs officer, and I look forward to collaborating with
Rob and all our colleagues to foster relevant, impactful and
equitable engagement both within the company and externally across
broader environments,” Downing said. “Over the last 18 months, the
world has especially come to understand and better appreciate the
importance of biopharmaceutical innovation and the promise and
power of cutting-edge science. I am deeply proud to help lead a
company that is relentlessly committed to delivering on that
promise by addressing some of the most significant global health
needs.”
Most recently, Downing was vice president, Communications &
Public Affairs, Medical Devices, at Johnson & Johnson. Prior to
that, Downing held the role of vice president, Global Finance
Communications at Johnson & Johnson, where she partnered with
the chief financial officer to develop, integrate and implement a
broad range of public affairs and communications strategies that
supported the CFO and CEO strategic platforms.
Downing also co-led the development and implementation of the
company’s “Our Race to Health Equity” platform – Johnson &
Johnson’s Racial & Social Justice strategy. Downing has more
than 20 years of leadership capabilities and expertise working in
dynamic and complex organizations, including American Express, JP
Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo.
About Merck
For 130 years, Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States
and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines
and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases in
pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives. We demonstrate
our commitment to patients and population health by increasing
access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and
partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of
research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and
animals – including cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and
Ebola, and emerging animal diseases – as we aspire to be the
premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world.
For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc.,
Kenilworth, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J.,
USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s
management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.
If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or
uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially
from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general
industry conditions and competition; general economic factors,
including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations;
the impact of the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease
(COVID-19); the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and
health care legislation in the United States and internationally;
global trends toward health care cost containment; technological
advances, new products and patents attained by competitors;
challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining
regulatory approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict
future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays;
financial instability of international economies and sovereign
risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and
other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory
actions.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause
results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s 2020
Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s
Internet site (www.sec.gov).
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