Denise Powell is an accomplished executive leader and engineer with 20+ years of experience leading business development, strategy and organizational transformation at Merck & Co., Inc. Currently, as Vice President of External Manufacturing Operations, she leads a global team managing a $1B spend across 30+ brands, focusing on transforming small molecule external manufacturing operations to support pipeline maturity.

Denise has held various leadership roles, demonstrating exceptional negotiation skills and driving competitive advantage through strategic business development. She has successfully led multinational divestitures and managed high-performing teams in Sourcing, Procurement, and Manufacturing.

Passionate about talent development, Denise is a founding mentor for the LEAD Employee Business Resource Group and serves on the boards of NACME and the John F. Kennedy Behavioral Health Center. She holds dual B.S. degrees in Biomedical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University and received The Manufacturing Institute’s Women MAKE Award in 2024.