New CEO to steer DNA Technology to Market Space

Synthetic biology company Evonetix has announced the strategic appointment of Colin McCracken as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as the company moves ahead into the phased development and commercialisation of its semiconductor-based DNA synthesis platform. With over 20 years experience in commercial and business development roles, he was formerly Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Fluidigm Corp, where he led commercial activities to drive revenue growth in support of the company’s global reach.

Other leadership positions held have included Vice President and General Manager and Vice President of Sales at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Vice President and Head of European Sales at Life Technologies and National Sales Manager at Qiagen.

With responsibility for building strategic partnerships and customer relationships ahead of the commercial introduction of the company’s first product, a benchtop DNA printer, Colin joins a reinforced senior leadership team as the company moves away from pure research and development into product commercialisation.

Colin McCracken (pictured) said: “The team at Evonetix has achieved major milestones in building the technology to enable semiconductor-based decentralised DNA synthesis. The Company’s technology has the potential to revolutionise synthetic biology, overcoming the limitations of centralised supply by making rapid synthesis of complex DNA libraries and genes routine in every lab. It is an honour to join Evonetix at this pivotal point in their development and I’m looking forward to working with the team to execute our vision and commercial strategy.”

Dr Matthew Hayes, Chief Technology Officer and company founder added: “We have engaged in an extensive and detailed search to find the right person to lead Evonetix into our next phase of development. Colin has impressed us with both his commercial knowledge and ability to relate to the leadership team and wider organisation. We are all looking forward to working with him and continuing to build Evonetix’s future.”

Paul Beastall, Chair of the Board at Evonetix also thanked Matthew Hayes for his dedicated work as interim Chief Executive Officer, ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of the business. He will resume his role as Chief Technology Officer with the company following a transition period.

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