FRANKFURT, Germany -- (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Merz, a global leader in medical aesthetics and neurotoxins, today announced the appointment of Bob Rhatigan as Chief Executive Officer – Americas. Expanding on his leadership of Merz’s North American business, Mr. Rhatigan will now assume responsibility for Latin America as well and will oversee the overall commercial strategy for the newly-created Americas Region. In addition, Frank Brandt-Pollmann has been promoted to Area Vice President – Latin America and will lead Merz’s business operations across Latin America, reporting directly to Bob Rhatigan. The changes go into effect September 1, 2018.

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“We are confident that under the leadership of Bob Rhatigan and Frank Brandt-Pollmann, Merz in the Americas will be well-positioned to execute on our global vision to become the most admired, trusted and innovative aesthetics and neurotoxin company,” said Philip Burchard, CEO of Merz. “Moreover, I would particularly like to thank Beat Neukom, Chief Financial Officer – Merz Group, for his extraordinary commitment and contributions as interim Region Head Latin America. For the past two years, and in addition to his CFO responsibilities, Beat has led the team in Latin America through significant change, with a focus on increasing revenue in strategic business areas and establishing a culture of collaboration across the region. This has led to a significant acceleration of our business in Latin America and has put Merz on a clear path of success for the future.”

With the creation of this new Americas region, Merz is connecting and strengthening its business in North and Latin America (LATAM), which is home to some of the world’s top aesthetics markets, including the US, Brazil and Mexico. Together, physicians and patients in the Americas represent more than half of the total aesthetic procedures performed globally each year.¹

“I am honored to accept this new leadership role within Merz, and I believe that our increased focus on the Americas creates an exciting strategic opportunity to strengthen our partnerships with customers in these important markets,” said Bob Rhatigan, CEO – Americas. “I’m excited to take on the additional responsibility of LATAM, which has grown considerably and established a strong foundation for future success under the leadership of Beat Neukom over the past two years. I also look forward to working closely with Frank Brandt-Pollmann to leverage our combined resources and talented Merz teams in the LATAM region to further unlock the potential of our portfolio and continue to meet the evolving needs of physicians and patients across the Americas.”

In his new role as CEO – Americas, Mr. Rhatigan will continue to be based in Raleigh, NC, USA, reporting directly to Philip Burchard, CEO - Merz. Mr. Rhatigan joined Merz in April 2017 as President and Chief Executive Officer – North America.

“Over the past years, Merz in Latin America has experienced significant growth, and I am grateful for this opportunity to work alongside Bob Rhatigan to build on past achievements and lead the team in Latin America to even greater performance,” said Frank Brandt-Pollmann, Area Vice President – Latin America. “As we look to the future, we will continue to expand our portfolio offerings, intensify our focus on customer needs, and build on our strong culture of leadership and collaboration across Latin America.”

In his new role as Area Vice President – Latin America, Mr. Brandt-Pollmann will retain his current responsibilities as General Manager for Brazil. Mr. Brandt-Pollmann joined Merz in September 2012 and brings more than 12 years of international pharmaceutical experience in both operations and commercial roles. A German national, he has professional experience in Europe and Asia Pacific as well as several countries in Latin America.

Merz in the Americas

Merz has a direct presence in six countries in the Americas, as well as a network of selected professional distribution partners in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Merz in the Americas is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, and has facilities in Mesa, Arizona, Franksville, Wisconsin as well as offices in Toronto, Canada, Mexico City, Bogotá, Colombia, São Paolo, Brazil and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Merz Worldwide

With approximately 3,000 employees and a direct presence in 28 countries, Merz is a global, family-owned aesthetics and neurotoxin company based in Frankfurt, Germany. Privately held for 110 years, the company is distinguished by its commitment to innovation, long-term perspective and focus on profitable growth. In addition to its comprehensive portfolio of medical aesthetic products in the device, injectable and skincare categories, Merz also develops neurotoxin therapy to treat neurologically-induced movement disorders. In fiscal year 2016/17, Merz generated revenue of EUR 1,092.9 million. More information is available at www.merz.com.

¹ Source: Global market research data on file

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CONTACT:

Media Contact – Global
Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. KGaA
Global Corporate Communications
Mariana Smith Bourland
Phone: +49 151 4249 1466
Email: mariana.smith@merz.com
or
Media Contact – North America
Merz North America, Inc.
Corporate Communications
Emily Browder
Phone: +1 919.582.8114
Email: Emily.Browder@merz.com

Bob Rhatigan, CEO - Americas (Photo: Business Wire)

Frank Brandt-Pollmann, Area Vice President - Latin America (Photo: Business Wire)