Arpa Garay to Join Moderna as Chief Commercial Officer Following Departure from Merck

Compiled by Rhee

Latest news shows that Arpa Garay, MSD's global head of human health marketing, will join Moderna on May 31 as Chief Commercial Officer, reporting to Stéphane Bancel.

Just two months ago, Arpa Garay was promoted. MSD announced a restructuring of its Human Health Division and appointed Arpa Garay as the Global Head of Marketing for the Human Health Division, effective February 28.

Arpa Garay has worked at MSD for 16 years, during which she successively managed businesses in oncology, vaccines, specialties, and chronic care. Prior to her role as the head of marketing, Garay served as the President of Global Oncology and Digital Businesses at MSD. In this position, she orchestrated the commercialization of certain pipeline products, driving business growth for the cancer portfolio. Additionally, she participated in formulating collaboration plans with AstraZeneca, Eisai, and Seagen.

It is reported that since this year, MSD has announced several major personnel changes. Previously, in February, MSD announced that its CEO Kenneth C. Frazier would retire on June 30 but would continue as the executive chairman of the company’s board of directors to ensure a seamless transition. Meanwhile, the board unanimously elected MSD's Chief Financial Officer Robert M. Davis as the next CEO, who will officially take office on July 1 this year.

Moreover, Rogerio Vivaldi has returned to MSD after a brief departure, taking on the role of President of International Markets for the Human Health Division and joining the company's Executive Committee, reporting directly to David Ricks. This personnel appointment became effective on August 1st. During his time away from MSD, he joined Jixing Pharmaceuticals as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors in July 2021.

Reference Source: Merck's C-suite shakeup logs another loss as marketing exec Garay leaves for Moderna