Deese Takes President's Post at Merck Manufacturing

PharmaManufacturing.com
05/25/2005

On May 25, Merck & Co., Inc. announced the appointment of Willie A. Deese as president, Merck Manufacturing Division. Deese, who is currently senior vice president of Global Procurement for Merck, will have responsibility for Merck's global manufacturing, procurement and operational excellence functions, leading an organization of more than 15,000 employees, spanning 31 plants in 25 countries. Deese will serve as a member of Merck's Management Committee and will report directly to Merck's Chief Executive Officer and President Richard T. Clark. Deese succeeds Clark as president, Merck Manufacturing Division.

In announcing the appointment, Clark said, "Merck and the Merck Manufacturing Division are fortunate to have an experienced and dynamic leader of Willie's caliber as we focus our energy on the execution of a new manufacturing strategy that will improve our operating efficiency, establish faster and more streamlined processes for introducing new products, and enhance long-term shareholder value. His background in manufacturing and procurement, his extensive health care industry knowledge and his skill at leading broad-based change initiatives make him well suited for this new assignment."

Deese joined Merck as senior vice president, Global Procurement, in January 2004, after nearly three decades of experience as an executive and manager for several pharmaceutical, health care and high technology companies, including GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, PLC; SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, PLC; Kaiser Permanente and Digital Equipment Corp. During Deese's 28-year career, 24 years have been directly related to supporting, enabling or leading manufacturing operations, including plant management responsibility during his tenure at Digital Equipment Corp.

Since joining Merck 16 months ago, Deese has been responsible for developing and implementing a procurement strategy that has helped Merck dramatically reduce its cost of goods, materials and services, and is projected to achieve an aggressive cost reduction target of $1.2 billion over five years. He also has been instrumental in the ongoing development of Merck's manufacturing strategy. Deese has also spearheaded initiatives to improve efficiency, service and quality through consolidation of key business support functions.

"Merck has a long tradition of manufacturing excellence, built on a strong foundation of product quality, safety and respect for the environment," said Deese. "Along with Dick Clark and the talented senior management team in the Merck Manufacturing Division, I will have a clear focus on maximizing the value of manufacturing to Merck and rapidly moving our new product pipeline from the laboratory to the patient, while delivering operating efficiencies and operational excellence throughout all parts of our organization."

Deese began his career in 1976 at Digital Equipment Corp. in Springfield, Mass., serving in a variety of procurement and materials management functions, ultimately becoming Site Manager, responsible for delivering worldwide requirements for disk and tape drive subsystems. In 1992 he joined SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals in Philadelphia, ultimately becoming vice president and director, Purchasing. In 1996, Willie became vice president, Purchasing, at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., where he had responsibility for creating and implementing the procurement strategy for the world's largest integrated health care system. In 1997 he returned to SmithKline Beecham as senior vice president and director, Purchasing. Willie led the integration of the Glaxo and SmithKline procurement organizations through their merger, becoming senior vice president, Global Procurement and Logistics for GlaxoSmithKline in 2001.