Dr. Laura Matz is the Chief Science and Technology Officer for Merck, driving innovation and digitalization in Merck across the 3 business sectors, Life Sciences, Healthcare, and Electronics. Serving as an Executive Vice President within Merck, she is responsible for the corporate innovation teams, including the digital office and new digital business models. In addition, Laura is CEO of the newly launched data sharing platform company, Athinia™, which focuses on enabling secure data sharing within the semiconductor ecosystem. She possesses 20 years of experience in semiconductor manufacturing and a decade of experience in running semiconductor materials businesses. Prior to becoming the CTO, she was a senior vice president within EMD Electronics (previously Versum Materials and Air Products Electronics division). She has always been a key contributor to the growth in semiconductor materials, driving a strong R&D presence to enable business growth. Laura is a strong advocate for young talent in science and engineering. As a leader, she builds teams to find innovative solutions to the problems facing humanity and implement them with the discipline and rigor to create the greatest impact. In 2023, she joined SEMI Impact for Skills as a board member, a governance program to support upskilling and reskilling, to attract new talent, and to unlock EU and national/regional funding. In addition, she is a board member of AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers), a leading organization for chemical engineering professionals. Laura has a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Washington State University and an undergraduate degree from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.