Matthias Heinzel

Matthias Heinzel is a member of the Executive Board and CEO of the Life Science business of Merck. Since joining the company in April 2021, he has focused on shaping and executing the Life Science strategy to capture a transformative step-change in growth and profitability. He leads the global team of more than 28,000 employees with a collective purpose to impact life and health with science. 

Before joining Merck, Matthias Heinzel served as an executive board member and president of the Nutrition & Biosciences business at DuPont, which focused on specialty food ingredients, dietary supplements, pharma excipients and enzymes for food, household and personal care and industrial applications. During his tenure there, he played an integral role in driving the profitable organic growth and expanding the business through mergers and acquisitions. He was instrumental in merging the Nutrition & Biosciences division with IFF, a U.S.-based company that produces flavors, fragrances and cosmetic actives. He joined DuPont in 2003 and held a range of senior business leadership roles in the U.S., Germany and Denmark.

Matthias Heinzel started his career in 1993 at McKinsey & Company, where he served international clients in the technology, telecommunications and process industries. He then held several international leadership roles in marketing, strategy and business development in the telecommunications industry.

Matthias Heinzel was born in 1967, in Weinheim, Germany. He holds a master’s degree in business administration and electrical engineering from the Technical University of Darmstadt and a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Kassel. He is married and has two daughters.