RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The North Carolina Biotechnology Center has formed a search committee to begin its pursuit of a new president to succeed Leslie Alexandre, Dr. P.H., who resigned Jan. 22 after more than four years in the position.
The nine-member search committee, drawn from the Biotechnology Center’s board of directors, was appointed by Board Chair Sue W. Cole, a principal of Granville Capital Inc. of Greensboro. In addition to Cole, who will chair the search committee, committee members include:
-- Jack Cecil, president of Biltmore Farms, LLC. -- Dr. Stephanie Curtis, professor and head of the Department of Genetics, N.C. State University -- Mark Crowell, associate vice chancellor for economic development and technology transfer, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill -- Dr. Heinrich Gugger, former president and CEO of Icoria Inc. -- Dr. Marvin Moss, professor, Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, University of North Carolina - Wilmington -- Art Pappas, managing partner, A.M. Pappas & Associates -- Norris Tolson, secretary of the N.C. Department of Revenue -- Dr. Rosemary Wander, associate provost for research & public/private sector partnerships, University of North Carolina - Greensboro
The search committee met this week to develop a job description and a process and timeline for the search, Cole said. A national executive search firm will be hired to conduct the search. A letter soliciting proposals will be sent to search firms this week.
While the search is under way, the Biotechnology Center will be managed by its three senior vice presidents -- Dr. Ken Tindall, Steven Burke, and Lori Greenstein -- who collectively have more than 40 years of experience at the organization. The trio also managed the Biotechnology Center during the transition from Dr. Charles Hamner to Alexandre when Hamner retired in 2002. In addition, Board Vice Chair Norris Tolson will provide operational oversight as needed, Cole said.
“Because we have the luxury of a very experienced and capable senior management team, we will be focused on finding the right person for president rather than meeting an arbitrary deadline,” Cole said. “With that said, we hope to wrap up the process by summer.”
Until then, “we don’t expect to miss a beat during this interim,” Cole said. “We have a lot of very exciting work going on at the Center, and we will continue to push forward on many innovative things.”
The Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation established by the State and supported by the General Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research, business and education statewide.
Visit the Biotechnology Center’s Web site at www.ncbiotech.org.
North Carolina Biotechnology Center
CONTACT: Barry Teater, director of corporate communications of NorthCarolina Biotechnology Center, +1-919-541-9366
Web site: http://www.ncbiotech.org//
