Press Releases
June 20, 2011
Woods Hole Research Center Board Leadership Transitions
Wilhelm Merck, Founder and President of the Essex Timber Company and Treasurer of the Merck Family Fund, was elected Chairman of the Board of the Woods Hole Research Center at its annual meeting on Friday, June 17. Lawrence S. Huntington, for thirty years Chairman and President of The Fiduciary Trust in New York, retired after 14 years as Chairman of the Center’s board.
Merck is the founder and Managing Member of Essex Timber Company, LLC, a timberland management company. Prior to Essex's creation in 1999, he was an analyst and investment manager at Adams, Harkness & Hill in Boston. He holds a BA from Kenyon College. He has served on the board of the New England Forestry Foundation where he was co-chair of the Pingree Campaign, and is past President of the Merck Family Fund. He lives in Hamilton, Massachusetts, with his wife, Nonie and three teenage children.
Huntington presided over the Center’s expansion from its modest beginnings in Woods Hole into its two modern, renewably powered buildings on its ten acre Gilman Ordway Campus .He joined the WHRC Board in 1994 and became Treasurer in 1995. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Fiduciary Trust Company. In addition to the Center, he is active in many civic and business organizations including The Josiah Macy Foundation and Continuum Health Partners. He has served as Chairman of the New York Law School and the New York City Citizens Budget Commission, a fiscal watchdog agency. He is also a former Chairman of the World Wildlife Fund. He served for ten years as a member of the New York State Common Retirement Fund Investment Committee and is a former member of the NASD International Markets Advisory Board. He and his wife, Caroline, live in New York City.
In recognition of Huntington’s leadership, the Directors have created The Lawrence S. Huntington Environmental Prize in his honor. The Huntington Prize recognizes the outstanding contributions of leaders in the public or private sector who advance and promote research on climate, earth sciences, and conservation. These pioneers recognize the interrelationships of global systems and think on a planetary scale. Their leadership is dedicated to pursuing scientific issues of critical importance, and their goal is the sustainability of the Earth. This year’s prize was awarded to Huntington in honor of his service to the Center. The award will be made annually.
