Born in Germany in 1941, Marguerre was raised and educated in Heidelberg, where he read Political and Economic Science at Heidelberg University. He obtained his MBA at INSEAD in 1972. After which, he was managing Director at Pharmaplast (division of A.P. Möller) for three years in Copenhagen, before moving to Baxter-Travenol Europe in Brussels as their Director and Business manager of Hyland-Division. In 1979, he became senior executive vice-president of the Revlon Health care Group in Paris, a role which he continued until 1983, when he founded Octapharma.