Mirian Graddick-Weir joined Merck in 2006 from AT&T, where she was executive vice president of human resources and employee communications for five years. She is a member of the boards of Yum! Brands Inc., the HR Policy Association (chair) and the Cornell Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies. She is also a National Academy of Human Resources Fellow and a member of the Personnel Roundtable. She has earned many awards throughout her career, including the Distinguished Psychologist in Management award in 2003, HRE's HR Executive of the Year award in 2001 and, most recently, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Michigan in 2012 and the 2014 Academy of Management's Distinguished HR Executive Award.  Greatest HR accomplishment: "I'm particularly proud of the way we implemented our CEO-succession plan several years ago. There was a strong partnership between the CEO, CHRO and the board, culminating in a well-executed process and handoff of responsibilities without business disruption. We all recognize the enormous impact CEO succession can have on bottom-line results, so doing it well makes a difference." Greatest HR challenge/obstacle: "I've found it really tough finding effective ways to dramatically change the culture of a company with a long history of success -- and no immediate burning platform -- to take advantage of the current and future marketplace challenges and opportunities. Changing deep-rooted historical practices and a traditional mind-set can be daunting and takes time."

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