Thomas Cannell, DVM
President and Managing Director, Merck Canada Inc.

Dr. Cannell was appointed to the position of President and Managing Director of Merck Canada, one of Canada's leading healthcare companies, effective January 1, 2013. Based in Kirkland, Québec, the company employs approximately 1,250 employees and markets more than 530 pharmaceutical, consumer and animal health products across Canada.

Dr. Cannell comes to Merck Canada from Japan, where in 2010 he joined the Japanese organization as Vice-President and Executive Officer, Head of Marketing and Chief Strategy Officer. In this position he played an instrumental role in the development of the Japanese 10-Year Strategic Plan, while leading business innovation and other key strategic initiatives. While in Japan he oversaw the product launches of Gardasil^®, Cubicin^®, Cancidas^® and Rotateq^®.

Thomas Cannell began his career with the company in 1987 as a sales representative, and over the course of his career has held positions of increasing responsibility in strategic planning, marketing and sales. He has demonstrated leadership in developing and implementing business plans designed to support Merck's strategic growth initiatives in the United States and abroad.

Dr. Cannell is a member of Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) Board of Directors. He received his BS and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from Washington State University and practiced as a Small Animal Veterinarian in Washington State, prior to joining Merck.