THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Ceres, Inc., a privately- held plant biotechnology company, today announced the appointment of Patrick McCroskey to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Ceres, Dr. McCroskey was Vice President of Business Development at Diversa Corporation. He also served as Vice President of Finance and Strategic Planning for Intarsia Corporation, a joint venture between The Dow Chemical Company and Flextronics International, and held various technical and business positions during his earlier 10-year tenure with The Dow Chemical Company. Dr. McCroskey holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
The addition of Dr. McCroskey comes as Ceres has grown and established itself as a leader in the identification of genes with which to produce elite crop varieties and hybrids through proprietary genomics technologies and plant breeding. As CFO, Dr. McCroskey will oversee Ceres’ financial growth and participate as a member of the senior management team in all aspects of the business as the company continues to expand and further demonstrates its superior technology in targeted markets and business partnerships. “As we continue our growth in 2006, we are expanding our senior management team to provide additional expertise in our target markets, particularly cellulosic ethanol,” said Richard Hamilton, CEO of Ceres. “Patrick has a strong track record of business leadership within the biotechnology and chemical industries and his experience will help to ensure we continue to expand our business aggressively and intelligently.”
About Ceres
Ceres, Inc. (www.ceres.net), headquartered in Thousand Oaks, CA, is a privately-held plant biotechnology company utilizing cutting-edge genomics technologies to deliver sustainable solutions in energy production, agriculture, human health and nutrition. Ceres utilizes its proprietary genomics technologies including full-length cDNA sequencing, targeted gene activation, high-throughput screening platforms, and plant breeding with trait-linked marker-assisted breeding, to identify and deploy genes and traits required for the production of elite plant varieties and hybrids. Ceres is developing energy crops such as switchgrass, miscanthus and poplar for cellulosic ethanol as well as leveraging its technologies into established multi-billion dollar markets through strategic partnerships. Since 2002, Ceres has been deploying its traits and technologies in certain agricultural crops as part of a multi-year, $137 million license-based agreement with Monsanto.
Ceres, Inc.
CONTACT: Shirley Bell of Ceres, Inc., +1-805-376-6545, sbell@ceres-inc.com
Web site: http://www.ceres.net/
