Nicole Stovall is Vice President of Merck’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Center of Excellence (GDI CoE), bringing deep expertise in diversity and inclusion strategy, employment law, global ethics and investigations, and business partnership. Since joining the GDI CoE in January 2024, Nicole has led initiatives to further embed inclusion into the everyday workflow of the business while identifying clear and measurable opportunities to better link inclusion to business outcomes.
Nicole has led the integration of inclusive practices into HR automation and AI-enabled tools to promote unbiased outcomes while partnering closely with regional teams around the world to align programs with local needs and strengthen a culture of belonging.
Before joining Merck’s GDI CoE, Nicole served as a leader in the company’s Office of the General Counsel for over 20 years, where she led teams dedicated to labor and employment, as well as global investigations. During this time, Nicole was the primary legal advisor to the GDI CoE, demonstrating an enterprise-wide, values-driven approach and a track record of building trusted, collaborative relationships across teams and geographies.
She holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.