Conrod Kelly
Executive Director of Social Determinants and Population Health
MERCK

Conrod brings leadership expertise and a strong track record of developing and deploying strategies to grow products across multiple therapeutic areas and various stages of the product lifecycle. In his recent role as Executive Director of the U.S. Diabetes Franchise, Conrod and his team drove sales and share growth of JANUVIA® and accelerated the launch of the STEGLATRO® franchise. The diabetes franchise played a critical role in the U.S. digital acceleration effort, with a particular focus on user experience.  Conrod recognized the importance of social determinants of health and the role of cultural relevance in diabetes management. His accomplishments include the film “A Touch of Sugar” to raise awareness of the social factors contributing to the U.S. diabetes epidemic. He led the creation of a content marketing platform, How2Type2.com, to focus on culturally relevant information to support behavior modification. Conrod created a new role in the organization to focus on a “total market” marketing approach that is inclusive of all ethnic groups impacted by diabetes.

Before leading the diabetes franchise, Conrod was the U.S. Marketing Leader for BRIDION®, ENTEREG®, the Alzheimer’s Franchises, and other pipeline neuroscience assets. Conrod and his team successfully launched BRIDION® in the US market, delivering strong growth. Since joining Merck in 2009, Conrod has served as the US HCP Strategy Lead, US Scientific Strategy Lead, and a Global Marketing Manager. He also held roles in Global Market Research and Analytics supporting MAXALT®, VYTORIN®, and ZETIA®.

Prior to joining Merck, Conrod worked at LifeScan, a Johnson & Johnson company in Strategic Customer Marketing and at GlaxoSmithKline in vaccines sales and marketing. Conrod attended Florida A & M University earning his BS in Business Administration & MBA in Marketing. He resides in Montgomery County, PA with his wife Joy and daughter Nola Grace.