Hayward, California
February 12, 2007
Mendel Biotechnology, Inc.
announced today that Neal Gutterson has been appointed president
and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. Gutterson, a
24-year veteran of the plant biotechnology industry, has served
as the company's president and chief operating officer since
December 2005. He succeeds Chris Somerville who resigned to
focus on academic interests.
In making the announcement, Mendel Chairman Chris Somerville
said, "Neal has demonstrated his abilities to lead the company
by his successes in a series of senior executive roles at the
company during the past five years. Neal's strong operational
background, coupled with his knowledge of the business and his
clear vision of the opportunities and challenges in agriculture
and bioenergy, made him the board's choice to lead Mendel going
forward."
"We have reached an important transition point in Mendel's
business," Gutterson said. "Agricultural biotechnology and
genomics have great value, and Mendel remains a leader in the
development and application of these technologies for the row
crop seed industry. During the past ten years, however, the
company has matured to the point that we are now ready to
diversify our application of these technologies to maximize
long-term enterprise value while enhancing short-term revenue
growth."
Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. is a functional genomics company that
creates value through the discovery, development, and
commercialization of knowledge about plant gene expression.
Mendel is developing new products for large acreage agricultural
crops and bioenergy crops in collaboration with industry
leaders.
Background
Neal Gutterson - President and Chief Executive Officer - Mendel
Biotechnology, Inc.
Neal Gutterson was born August 24, 1955, in New York. He earned
a Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry at Yale University
followed by a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of
California Berkeley. He completed an executive education program
at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Neal joined Mendel in July 2002. He was previously Vice
President of Research at DNA Plant Technologies, Inc. Since
2005, Neal served as Mendel's President and Chief Operating
Officer with overall responsibility for leading the operations
of the biotechnology traits, chemistry and bio-energy seeds
business segments, inclusive of intellectual property
prosecution and strategy.
Neal is a member of the Food and Agriculture Section Governing
Body of the BIO organization. |
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