Merck promotes Constantin Fest to head of IR

Constantin Fest, who joined Merck in June, will lead the company’s investor relations department from January 1, 2013.

He replaces Joshua Young who, after eight years at Merck, will return to the US to ‘take up new challenges outside of the company’, according to a company statement. Fest will now report to Matthias Zachert, chief financial officer.

Before moving to the Darmstadt-based pharmaceuticals company in the summer, Fest worked in the IR department and treasury at Lanxess. He was part of the Lanxess investor relations team when it won three awards at this year’s IR Magazine Awards – Europe, including the grand prix for the best overall investor relations (small & mid-cap), and was short-listed for two others. The chemicals company ranked ninth in the IR Magazine Euro Top 100 2012.

Zachert also came to Merck from Lanxess, where he served as CFO from 2004 to 2011, joining the company alongside Fest in June.

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