Jose Barella new CEO at Merial

Barella has been serving Merial as chief operating officer and head of
business operations since 2005, during which time he has managed all commercial
activities for Merial globally, including sales and marketing for both the
companion animal and production animal businesses, and the commercial functions
that support them. He also heads global supply
chain.

Rhone-Poulenc basis
Before joining Merial,
Barella was the head of Aventis Environmental Science (AES), where he managed
the integration of all Rhone-Poulenc and AgroEvo assets to form AES, part of
Aventis CropScience.

Before that, he was commercial manager for
Rhone-Poulenc Agriculture, Ltd. for the UK and Ireland, and global product
manager for a variety of Rhone-Poulenc agricultural products.

“We are
delighted that Jose has agreed to lead Merial,” said Judy Lewent, Merck’s chief
financial officer and co-chair of Merial’s board of directors. “Jose’s broad
involvement in every aspect of the organization uniquely qualifies him to
implement Merial’s board-approved strategy.”

Olivier Jacquesson, of
Sanofi-Aventis and also co-chair of the Merial board, said: “This appointment
shows strong support by both shareholders for Merial and is an endorsement of
continuity with the Company’s strategy.”