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CompanyStats

Merck
  • HQ: Whitehouse Station, NJ
  • 2008 Revenues: $23.9 billion
  • Employees: 53,200
  • Global: 61 countries
  • R&D: 12 sites in 4 countries
  • Fortune 500: 103

CEOExtra

Since becoming CEO in 2005, Richard T. Clark has led Merck through a significant transformation of its business operations, from R&D to manufacturing to its selling model, all designed to position Merck as an industry leader. More change is on the horizon with Merck’s pending merger with its longtime partner, Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP). But in the midst of change, Clark, who joined the company in 1972 as a quality control inspector, stresses that Merck’s fundamentals remain the same. “Our focus on achieving scientific excellence, operating ethically and transparently, and our commitment to helping people get the medicines and vaccines they need — these are the things that make Merck great,” said Clark. “These things will not change.”

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Richard T. Clark

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Richard T. Clark

Merck

How do you rebuild a company’s reputation?

As chairman, president and CEO of Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) and as the past chairman of industry trade association PhRMA, Richard T. Clark has worked to address what he calls a “trust deficit” between the pharmaceutical industry and the public. In Clark’s view, this requires a clear-cut understanding of the needs and concerns of all stakeholders — and then meeting those expectations. At Merck, a global research-based pharmaceutical company with 2008 revenues of $24 billion, Clark and his top managers are spending more time meeting with customers and key stakeholders and listening closely to them. “We’re using what we learn to change our business model,” he says, “including the way we sell our products, which in turn is helping us to rebuild trust and deliver even greater value.”

“At the end of the day, reputation is grounded inactions, accompanied by candid, timely and transparent communication.”

Creating more transparency has also helped to rebuild Merck’s reputation, Clark adds. Last October the company began reporting grants of more than $500 to U.S. organizations in support of independent, accredited educational programs for health-care professionals. And this year Merck has begun to voluntarily disclose payments to U.S.-based medical and scientific experts who speak on behalf of the company and its products. “At the end of the day,” Clark says, “reputation is grounded in actions, accompanied by candid, timely and transparent communication.”