Geralyn Ritter portrait

Geralyn Ritter

Senior Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Assistant General Counsel


Geralyn Ritter is senior vice president, corporate secretary, and assistant general counsel at Merck & Co., Inc.  As corporate secretary, she is responsible for coordinating and supporting the activities of the company's board of directors.

She also leads shareholder engagement and counsels company leadership on corporate governance matters. Ritter also oversees legal support for Merck’s corporate areas, with responsibility for securities, finance, public affairs, employee benefits, and executive compensation matters. 

From 2008-2014, Ritter served as senior vice president for global public policy and corporate responsibility at Merck and as president of the Merck Foundation. In this role, she was responsible for worldwide public policy, government affairs, and corporate responsibility. She also lead Merck's philanthropic initiatives, including Merck for Mothers.

Prior to joining Merck, Ritter was senior vice president for international affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in Washington, D.C.  She also practiced law at the Washington law firm Covington & Burling. Ritter served for three years as associate general counsel for intellectual property matters in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President. 

She is also a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey and is an officer of the New York Chapter of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals and a member of its Advisory Board.

Ritter received a Master’s degree in International Economics and European Politics from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She obtained her J.D. from the Stanford University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Duke University.