A strategic leadership team
The Merck Serono Executive Management Board (EMB), headed by Merck Executive Board member Elmar Schnee, manages the division and makes key decisions to move the business forward. Its members are responsible for achieving sustainable sales and profit growth, and setting the strategic direction including overseeing of portfolio priorities.Management Board
Elmar Schnee Elmar Schnee is General Partner and a Member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA and the President of Merck Serono.
Mr Schnee joined Merck in May 2003 as the Director of the Merck Santé S.A.S. subsidiary in Lyon, France. In January 2004 he started managing the global operations of the Ethicals division and was nominated Head of the division in 2005.
Mr Schnee started his career in 1980 at a Swiss advertising agency and then pursued a series of management positions in marketing and sales in the consumer goods industry. In 1988 he joined the Swiss subsidiary of UK-based Fisons Pharmaceutical PLC as Marketing and Sales Director and was appointed Head of CNS and CV Marketing
worldwide in 1992. In 1996 Mr Schnee was the Vice President Consulting at U.S.-based Migliara / Kaplan Associates and in 1997 he took on the position of Director of the Business Unit Thrombosis at the Paris-based Sanofi-Synthélabo. He joined UCB Pharma in Brussels in 1999, initially as Group Director Global Marketing, Licensing
and Strategy, and later as Managing Director of Swiss-based UCB Farchim SA.
Mr Schnee studied at the Zurich-based Swiss Institute for Business Administration where he received a degree in Marketing Management. He is a Board member of ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Limited in Australia.
Vincent Aurentz Vincent Aurentz is Senior Executive Vice President, Portfolio Management and Business Development for Merck Serono. Previously Global Head of Licensing & Business Development, he has worked for Merck KGaA since 2002.
Prior to joining Merck, Mr. Aurentz was Managing Director and co-founder of True North Partners, a consulting and venture capital business focused on the healthcare industry. He has also worked as a partner for CSC Healthcare in New York and at Andersen Consulting where he focused on the pharmaceutical and medical products industries.
Mr. Aurentz received his BS in Mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania, USA.
Richard Douge Richard Douge is Senior Executive Vice President, Global Marketing for Merck Serono. Most recently Managing Director of Merck Santé, France, Dr. Douge previously worked in the capacity of Head of Marketing & Pharma International for Merck Ethicals.
Since joining the group in 1989, he has held various commercial functions within the Merck organization in France, Germany and Portugal. Prior to that, he worked for Solvay Duphar and Theraplix, now part of the Sanofi-Aventis Group.
Dr. Douge has a Doctorate in Medicine and a specialization in psychiatry. He attended business school at ESC Paris and EM Lyon
Hanns-Eberhard Erle Hanns-Eberhard Erle is Senior Executive Vice President, Technical Operations for Merck Serono. Previously he was Senior Vice President, Head of Technical Operations, Merck Pharma Ethicals.
Prior to joining Merck in 2005, Dr. Erle was the Head of Global Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Operations for Aventis Pharma AG. He has also worked for Hoechst AG and Hoechst Marion Roussel.
Dr. Erle has a broad range of experience in process development as well as in manufacturing for small molecules and biopharmaceuticals.
Dr. Erle received his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Fereydoun Firouz Fereydoun Firouz is CEO and President of EMD Serono, Inc. and Head of Commercial US for Merck Serono. Previously he was President of Serono, Inc., Serono's US operating subsidiary.
Mr. Firouz began his career at Serono in 1989. Prior to assuming the position as President of Serono, Inc. he held various global positions within Serono such as Vice President, Latin America, Vice President IBO Region and Executive Vice President for Reproductive Health in the US.
Mr. Firouz is a Board member of leading industry trade associations PhRMA (Pharmaceuticals Research and Manufacturers of America), BIO (Biotechnology Industry Organization) and the MBC (Massachusetts Biotechnology Council).
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from George Washington University in Washington DC
Roberto Gradnik Roberto Gradnik is Senior Executive Vice President, Commercial Europe for Merck Serono. Previously he was Senior Executive Vice President of Serono International and a member of the Executive Management Board.
Dr. Gradnik joined Serono in 1999 as Regional Vice President Serono Italy. Prior to joining, he was General Manager for Knoll AG, Italy. He has also worked for Bracco
Industria Chimica and at the Mario Negri pharmacological research institute.
Dr. Gradnik is the President of the Italian Biotech Industry Association, Assobiotech.
Dr. Gradnik has a degree in medicine from the University of Milano and has specializations in Cardiology and Internal Medicine.
Anton Hoos Anton Hoos, M.D., M.B.A. is Senior Executive Vice President of Global Development for Merck Serono. Prior to joining the company in 2007, Dr. Hoos served as Global Head of Development for Grünenthal GmbH, in Aachen, Germany. He also has experience in various global management and development roles for companies in the United States and Europe, including a long career with Aventis and its predecessor companies. His experience in both biologics and small molecule drug development spans more than 17 years, covering a host of responsibilities including clinical research and development, project and life-cycle management as well as alliance and sourcing management. Dr. Hoos received a degree in Medicine from the Technical University of Munich, Germany, as well as a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Toronto, Canada. 
Bernhard Kirschbaum Bernhard Kirschbaum is Senior Executive Vice President, Research for Merck Serono. Previously Vice President of Pre-clinical R&D, and Head of Global Technologies for Merck KGaA, he joined the company in 2005.
Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Kirschbaum was Vice President Discovery Research, Global Head of Therapeutic Domains
Thrombosis & Angiogenesis for Sanofi-Aventis. He has also worked for Aventis, Hoechst Marion Roussel in various senior positions and headed the Centre of Applied Genomics in Martinsried.
He has a PhD in molecular biology, biochemistry and physiological chemistry from the University of Konstanz, Germany, and worked at Rockefeller University (New York) and the Pasteur Institute (Paris).
Franck Latrille Franck Latrille is Senior Executive Vice President, Commercial International and Deputy Head of Merck Serono. Previously Senior Executive Vice President, Global Product Development, Dr. Latrille joined Serono in 1994.
Prior to that he served as General Manager of Sorebio, a company which he co-founded in 1987 and which was then acquired by Serono.
From 1997 he held positions of increasing responsibility in the Manufacturing organization and from 2000 to 2003 was responsible for production and process development worldwide; from 2003 to 2007 he was responsible of Global Product Development which included Manufacturing, Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs.
Dr. Latrille holds a PhD in animal physiology and biochemistry and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Bordeaux, France.
François Naef François Naef is Senior Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Legal and Communications for Merck Serono and Chief Administration Officer of Merck Serono S.A. Previously Senior Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Legal, he joined Serono in 1988. Mr. Naef also served as Company Secretary and as General Manager for Serono International S.A.
Prior to joining Serono, he was an attorney at the Geneva law firms of Combe & de Senarclens and, before that, Me Rossetti.
Mr. Naef is Vice President of the Board and a member of the Executive Committee of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce as well as a member of the Economic Council of the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland.
He holds a law degree and a Master’s degree in European law from the University of Geneva.
Wolfgang Wein Dr. Wolfgang Wein is Senior Executive Vice President, Oncology for Merck Serono. Dr. Wein is also a member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA. He joined Merck KGaA in 2004 and was previously Senior Vice President, Global Oncology Commercialisation.
Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Wein was Oncology Marketing Leader for Europe at Eli Lilly, based in the UK. Dr. Wein has more than 15 years of oncology experience.
After a post-graduate education in hospital management, in 1993 he switched to a career in the pharmaceutical industry. In his previous positions at Nycomed and later at Eli Lilly he worked in the medical and marketing fields in diverse regions including Europe, CEE / ME / Africa and Japan.
Dr. Wein is a medical doctor and former lecturer in Clinical Pharmacology at the University Hospital, Vienna. Dr. Wein also has a second doctorate degree in philosophy and journalism.
Dorothea Wenzel Dr. Dorothea Wenzel is Head of Controlling for Merck Serono. Previously Head of Controlling Pharmaceuticals for Merck, Dr. Wenzel joined the group in 2004.
Prior to that, she worked at McKinsey & Co. as a strategic management consultant and project manager. She was also Head of the Health Care Unit of the Rürup-Commission at the Federal Ministry of Health in Berlin and she worked as Director for Corporate Development and Controlling for a European subsidiary of Winterthur Insurance.
Dr. Wenzel did her PhD studies in Health Economics at the Technical University of Darmstadt.
Last updated: 13/02/2008