Renee Connolly

Remarks | Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer & Head, Engagement, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany & Massachusetts Conference for Women Board Member

RENEE CONNOLLY is the chief diversity, equity & inclusion officer and head of engagement at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, where she drives the strategic advancement and cultural implementation of the company’s global Diversity Equity Inclusion & Belonging (DEI&B) efforts at an enterprise level. With a passion for this critical area, she aims to deliver a state-of-the-art business model for DEI&B empowering the global organization to move the needle — for the €21 billion business, for 62,000 employees across 66 countries, and for customers, the community and patients. Connolly’s focus is on the intersection where DE&I efforts support the company’s purpose alongside employees’ professional goals. She is the vice president of the Board for the International Women’s Forum, Massachusetts, and board member of the American Cancer Society’s New England Region chapter, Massachusetts Conference for Women, and the Home for Little Wanderers. In 2022 she served as the co- chair of the “Voices and Visions“ dinner for the HOME, and co- chaired the ResearHER’s campaign in connection with the American Cancer Society to support women-led cancer research. Connolly has also been involved in the American Diabetes Association and was a member of the MassBioEd Foundation for over 10 years. She is a past recipient of the Working Mother of the Year award from Working Mother Magazine and of the American Cancer Society’s Cindy Lombardo Service Above Self Award for her support in the fight against cancer. Connolly earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ithaca College.