Merck has appointed Michael Holston as general counsel, effective July 01, 2015. He  will succeed Bruce Kuhlik upon his retirement after ten years with the company.

Holston will remain in his role as chief ethics and compliance officer during the transition period. These changes reflect a multi-year executive succession planning process. Beginning July 1, 2014, Holston also will oversee responsibility for Merck's communications, policy and security organizations.

Holston joined Merck in 2012 as the company's chief ethics and compliance officer. He previously was general counsel for Hewlett-Packard, where his responsibilities included legal, communications, government affairs and corporate responsibility, in addition to compliance, ethics and privacy matters.

Prior to that, Holston was a partner in the law firm of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, where he served as external counsel to Merck on a wide range of important matters, including product litigation, government investigations and compliance with healthcare laws and regulations.