Affymetrix Appoints Frank Witney, Ph.D., as President and Chief Executive Officer
June 01 2011 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Affymetrix, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFFX) today announced that Dr. Frank
Witney has been appointed president and chief executive officer,
effective July 1, 2011. Dr. Witney joins Affymetrix with 30 years
of experience in the life science research products and diagnostic
and analytical instrument industry, having served in senior
leadership positions at Dionex, Panomics, Affymetrix and Bio-Rad.
Dr. Witney will also be appointed to the company’s board of
directors. Dr. Witney will succeed Kevin M. King who has resigned
as Affymetrix’s president and chief executive officer, effective
June 30, 2011, to pursue other interests.
Most recently, Dr. Witney served as president and chief
executive officer of Dionex Corporation, which completed its $2.1
billion sale to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) in May
2011. Prior to joining Dionex in April 2009, Dr. Witney served as
executive vice president and chief commercial officer of
Affymetrix, following Affymetrix’s acquisition of Panomics, Inc. in
December 2008. Dr. Witney was president and chief executive officer
of Panomics from 2002 until 2008.
“Our Board is delighted to welcome Frank back to Affymetrix and
believe he is the right person to lead the company through its next
phase of growth and development,” said Stephen P.A. Fodor, Ph.D.,
founder and chairman of Affymetrix’s board of directors. “Frank is
a seasoned healthcare executive with proven operational and
financial expertise built over an impressive 30-year career and we
are confident that his extensive market knowledge, international
experience and operational insight will be of enormous value to
Affymetrix.”
Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Witney said, “This is an
exciting opportunity for me. I am very pleased to be rejoining
Affymetrix, a company that has made significant contributions over
many years to healthcare research. I know the company well and
believe there is significant untapped potential. Affymetrix has a
strong technology base, a valuable portfolio of innovative products
and solutions, long standing and strong customer relationships, and
deeply talented employees. I look forward to working with the board
of directors, executive team and Affymetrix’s exceptional employees
to enhance the company’s market position and accelerate its growth
and success.”
Dr. Fodor added, “We thank Kevin for his contributions as
Affymetrix’s president and CEO. Under Kevin’s leadership,
Affymetrix’s operating cost structure improved, gross margins were
expanded and the Company returned to operating profitability. Today
Affymetrix is well-positioned for future success and has a strong
balance sheet with more than $240 million of cash as of March 31,
2011. We wish Kevin every success in his future pursuits.”
Prior to his role at Panomics, Dr. Witney served as president of
Drug Discovery Tools at PerkinElmer Life Sciences, assuming this
position after PerkinElmer's acquisition of Packard BioScience in
2001, where he served as president and chief operating officer.
From 1983 to 2000, Dr. Witney held a series of research and general
management positions at Bio-Rad Laboratories and led the company's
efforts to enter rapidly growing markets for proteomic and bioassay
technologies, culminating as group operations manager of the Life
Science Group. Dr. Witney was a post-doctoral fellow at the
National Institutes of Health from 1980 to 1983 and holds a
doctorate in molecular and cell biology from Indiana University. He
earned an undergraduate degree in microbiology from the University
of Illinois. Dr. Witney currently serves on the board of directors
of One Lambda Inc., DVS Sciences Inc. and RareCyte Inc.
About Affymetrix
Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top pharmaceutical,
diagnostic, and biotechnology companies, as well as leading
academic, government, and nonprofit research institutes. More than
2,100 systems have been shipped around the world and over 26,000
peer-reviewed papers have been published using the technology.
Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and has
manufacturing facilities in Cleveland, Ohio, and Singapore. The
Company has more than 900 employees worldwide and maintains sales
and distribution operations across Europe, Asia and Latin America.
For more information about Affymetrix, please visit the Company's
website.
All statements in this press release that are not historical are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including statements
regarding Affymetrix' "expectations," "beliefs," "hopes,"
"intentions," "strategies" or the like. Such statements are subject
to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially for Affymetrix from those projected, including,
but not limited to: the Company’s ability to hire and retain key
personnel, risk relating to the Company's ability to successfully
commercialize new products, risk relating to past and future
acquisitions, including the ability of the Company to successfully
integrate such acquisitions into its existing business; risks of
the Company's ability to achieve and sustain higher levels of
revenue, higher gross margins and reduced operating expenses;
uncertainties relating to technological approaches, risks
associated with manufacturing and product development;
uncertainties relating to cost and pricing of Affymetrix products;
dependence on collaborative partners; uncertainties relating to
sole-source suppliers; uncertainties relating to FDA and other
regulatory approvals; competition; risks relating to intellectual
property of others and the uncertainties of patent protection and
litigation. These and other risk factors are discussed in
Affymetrix' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2010, and other SEC reports. Affymetrix expressly disclaims any
obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to
reflect any change in Affymetrix' expectations with regard thereto
or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any
such statements are based.
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