Helena Grabarevic is a seasoned innovation leader with a diverse background in driving business transformation and innovation strategies. With a passion for driving growth and fostering innovation, Helena has made significant contributions in various roles throughout her career.
Currently serving as the Director of Innovation and R&D Transformation at Merck Life Science KGaA in Darmstadt, she is responsible for developing and executing the innovation strategy for Merck Group’s Science and Lab Solutions Chemistry business in order to drive new product growth. Additionally, she was responsible for developing and launching the digital product “CertForward”, an offering for Analytical Cannabis Testing Labs in the US, driving forward the company’s digital transformation initiatives and leveraging Merck Group’s internal M-Trust Blockchain Platform.
Prior to her role at Merck, Helena held key positions at global lubricants company Fuchs Petrolub. She played a pivotal role in leading a global project as part of the Group Strategy 2025 to identify new markets and business models for the globally active Fuchs Group. Her strategic project leadership led to the identification of several promising new markets for the company which are successfully being pursued right now as part of the company’s global strategy. Helena successfully led cross-functional, multinational teams and facilitated the establishment of an Innovation Network and Innovation Culture program within the organization.
Earlier in her career, Helena gained valuable experience as a Management Consultant at Accenture driving Change and Transformation projects at global industrial customers. During her tenure, she worked on several Digital Transformation projects at clients where she was responsible to set up global project management offices and lead the change and transformation workstreams for key projects.
Helena holds a Master of Arts in Culture & Business from the University of Mannheim, and a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main. Being trained in ethnography and having conducted ethnographic field research herself, Helena now leverages these skills in applying customer-centric and agile methodologies in her innovation projects.
Additionally, she volunteers at AbsolventUM Mannheim, where she mentors students and contributes to the University alumni association.