Merck's CFO Matthias Zachert to join Lanxess as CEO

Matthias Zachert, Chief Financial Officer, Merck Group, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Lanxess AG. Zachert will succeed the present CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management of Lanxess AG, Axel C Heitmann who has resigned effective from February 28, 2014.
 
Zachert has been a member of Merck’s Executive Board since June 2011. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Merck Executive Board, said, “I thank Matthias Zachert very much for the successful and collegial cooperation, which all of us would have liked to continue. He has significantly contributed to further developing Merck in a positive way. His transparent capital market communication has clearly helped boost investor trust in our company. Matthias Zachert has earned great merit for our company. I wholeheartedly wish him luck and success in his new role at Lanxess. Merck will continue on its chosen path. The transformation process continues unabated.”
 
Zachert commented, “I would like to express my sincere thanks for the trust and good collaboration with the supervisory bodies as well as with my colleagues on the Executive Board. Merck is a first-class company and I very much enjoyed contributing to the greatest change process in the company’s history of almost 350 years. I am convinced that the transformation over the coming years will continue to lead to success. It’s hard for me to leave Merck.”