Rita Karachun, CPS, CGMA

Rita Karachun has served as a member of our Board of Directors since May 2024. Ms. Karachun has nearly four decades of experience leading finance, accounting, and SEC reporting functions at multi-billion-dollar global companies. Most recently, Ms. Karachun was Senior Vice President (SVP) and Global Controller for Merck & Co., Inc., (Merck) until her retirement in May 2025. Her experience includes more than 17 years at Merck, where she held positions of increasing financial management responsibility. As Global Controller at Merck, Ms. Karachun managed a global team responsible for all accounting and operational aspects of the company.

While at Merck, Ms. Karachun served as a member of the Finance Risk Committee, responsible for global oversight of capital structure, dividend policy, insurance coverage, and more; the Enterprise Risk Management Committee, responsible for global oversight of risks, developing remediation plans, and ensuring a robust board governance process; and the Benefits Executive Oversight Committee, responsible for evaluation of health care and pension benefit plans, as well as global restructuring activities.

Prior to joining Merck, Ms. Karachun spent 16 years at AT&T, including serving as Assistant Controller – Chief Accountant at AT&T and as Finance Director at AT&T Capital Corp. She began her career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen LLP.

Ms. Karachun currently serves on the board of Jersey Battered Women’s Services, a not-for-profit organization. She is also on advisory committees for Financial Executives International and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Ms. Karachun is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University. She completed her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification in New Jersey. She also holds a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) certification.