Marian Wentworth

Marian W. Wentworth began her career as an operations management consultant at pioneering professional services firm Arthur D. Little, Inc. in 1985. She joined the leading pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. in 1989, where she held various senior roles over more than 25 years.

Early assignments at Merck included roles of increasing responsibility in marketing, including Product Manager of Ophthalmics, Director of Managed Care Business Planning, and US Marketing Director for Arthritis and Analgesia. She also worked in the areas of cholesterol, osteoporosis, and infectious diseases.

In 2003, Wentworth joined Merck’s Vaccine Division to lead the global launch of Gardasil, the world’s first cervical cancer vaccine which broke all records for speed of global approvals. She went on to run the Adult Vaccines franchise, including vaccines for shingles, influenza, pneumococcal disease, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, and tetanus. As Vice President of Global Vaccines Strategy & Innovation, Wentworth lead strategic decision making for marketing, manufacturing, and research and development for the entire USD 6 billion vaccines portfolio at Merck, recommending significant capital investments, the dissolution of the joint venture with Sanofi in Europe, and licensing-in of key vaccines and related technologies.

In 2017, Wentworth became President and Chief Executive of Management Sciences for Health (MSH), a US-based global nonprofit that works with leaders in low- and middle-income countries to build strong, equitable, and sustainable health systems that save lives and improve health outcomes. A leader in managing complex international public health initiatives globally and across diverse cultures, Wentworth has used her private-sector and nonprofit acumen to help MSH make highly effective and sustainable systemic improvements in some of the world’s most challenging environments.

Building on her substantial experience in vaccine development and rollout, Wentworth also serves on the Value of Vaccination Research Network (VoVRN) Steering Committee, and the WHO Product Development for Vaccines Advisory Committee (PDVAC).

Wentworth has worked extensively with major policy decision makers including Gavi, WHO, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and various ministries of health. She has a BA in mathematics from Harvard University and is a visiting scholar at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health.