Career Biography

A. Marilyn Batonga is the Director, Global Investigations — Asia Pacific, Japan, and EEMEA (Eastern Europe Middle East Africa) at MSD, bringing more than a decade of cross-border investigations, compliance, and litigation experience to the role. She is responsible for ensuring the integrity of the investigation process across diverse jurisdictions, including advising team members in HR and Legal functions on the efficient and effective review of allegations. Her work also involves advising senior leadership and regional stakeholders on risk mitigation.

Marilyn is also responsible for handling key investigations, ensuring adherence to MSD values such as non-retaliation and treating reporting persons and all other involved parties with dignity and respect. For her work, she leverages technology, enlists the support of outside vendors and external counsel where needed, and liaises with subject matter experts within MSD to address data protection, employment law, or other legal issues that may arise.

Before moving to Singapore to join MSD, Marilyn was a partner in the litigation and government enforcement practice group of international law firm Baker McKenzie, in Washington, D.C., where she built a global practice focused on anti-corruption, supply-chain risk and cross-border regulatory matters. Her practice has included conducting sensitive internal investigations into allegations of bribery, fraud, procurement irregularities, and other misconduct. She has represented multinational clients before the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission and has coordinated legal strategies for clients facing cross-border enforcement, including enforcement from authorities in the U.S., the U.K., South Africa, Mexico and elsewhere.

During her tenure at Baker McKenzie, she also led anticorruption risk assessments, designed third party due diligence programs, provided compliance trainings for legal and HR teams, and prepared company-wide compliance frameworks, codes of conduct and contract provisions for multinational organizations operating in high-risk markets. Her industry experience spans life sciences, manufacturing, aviation services and professional services.

Marilyn has published several articles and is a frequent speaker on anticorruption enforcement and supply chain compliance. She has spoken and taught at leading industry conferences, such as the American Conference Institute’s 39th Annual FCPA Conference, and she has moderated panels on corporate culture and ethical decision making.

She holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. from Swarthmore College. Marilyn is admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia and New York. Fluent in English, French, and Spanish, she has substantial experience working across multilingual and multicultural teams. She brings to her inhouse role a combination of rigorous cross-border investigation experience, practical compliance program design, and a collaborative leadership style that helps business leaders navigate risk while preserving enterprise reputation.