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Celeste Warren

2019 and 2023 Speaker

Introduction | Vice President, Global Diversity & Inclusion Center of Excellence, Merck

CELESTE WARREN is vice president, global diversity and inclusion center of excellence at Merck.  As the leader for Merck’s global diversity and inclusion center of excellence, she is responsible for working with Merck’s global leaders to advance and embed diversity and inclusion throughout the organization to enhance the employee experience and maximize business performance. Warren joined Merck in 1997 and has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility within the organization. She has been recognized for her work in diversity, equity, and inclusion including: Black Enterprise’s Top Executives in Global Diversity and Inclusion, Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Women in Corporate AmericaDiversity Global Magazine’s Influential Women in Global Diversity, and Diversity Woman Magazine’s: Elite100 List. She serves on the boards of RWJBarnabas Health Systems and Paradigm for Parity.  She is also a member of CNBC’s Workforce Executive Council and World 50’s Inclusion and Diversity Impact Community. Warren is a published author and her articles on diversity, equity, and inclusion have been featured in numerous national and global publications and she has had the opportunity to speak at various events across the world. Warren attended the University of Kentucky where she earned her BS degree. She received her master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University. She is the wife of John Warren and the mother of two children, Christina-Celeste and John Steven, Jr.