KENILWORTH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that Dr. Christine (“Kricket”) E. Seidman, professor, Harvard Medical School, and Kathy J. Warden, chairman, chief executive officer and president, Northrop Grumman Corporation, will join the company’s Board of Directors effective March 16, 2020. Dr. Seidman and Ms. Warden will stand for election with the company’s other directors in connection with Merck’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 26, 2020. With the addition of Dr. Seidman and Ms. Warden, the Merck board will include 14 members.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Seidman and Ms. Warden to our board,” said Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “Both are highly respected leaders in their fields. Dr. Seidman’s scientific expertise and Ms. Warden’s strategic perspective and operational expertise will be important assets as Merck continues its journey to become the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company serving patients around the globe.”

Dr. Seidman is the Thomas W. Smith Professor of Medicine and Genetics at Harvard Medical School and is the director of the Cardiovascular Genetics Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She leads a research laboratory that focuses on integrating clinical medicine and molecular technologies to define disease-causing gene mutations and genetic variations that increase disease risk. Dr. Seidman was awarded the Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Sciences in 2018 and elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005. She earned her degree in biochemistry from Harvard University, her M.D. from The George Washington University and completed her residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins University.

Ms. Warden became chairman of Northrop Grumman in August 2019 and has served as CEO and President since January 2019. Previously, she was President and Chief Operating Officer, and President of the Mission Systems and Information Systems sectors. Prior to joining Northrop Grumman, Ms. Warden held leadership roles at General Dynamics, a venture technology firm, and General Electric.

In addition to global operational experience leading a research and technology-intensive company, Ms. Warden brings deep cybersecurity expertise to the Merck board. Ms. Warden also serves as the chair of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. She earned her undergraduate degree in computer information systems from James Madison University and her MBA from The George Washington University.

About Merck

For more than a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company 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. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and communities around the world - including cancer, cardio-metabolic diseases, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and infectious diseases including HIV and Ebola. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.