Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc. Names John Fess Chief Executive Officer
BOTHELL, Wash, -- Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc., a leader in gene synthesis, today announced that John Fess has been named Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Fess succeeds John Mulligan, Ph.D., Blue Heron’s founder who will become the company’s Board Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer. “This critical management change reflects Blue Heron’s commitment to continued growth and to meeting our customers’ increasingly complex requirements. John’s leadership is key to Blue Heron’s existing operations as well as its future success,†Dr. Mulligan remarked.
Previously, as Chief Operating Officer of Blue Heron Bio, Mr. Fess oversaw Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing, and Information Systems and directed ongoing redesign and deployment of critical business systems. Mr. Fess brings 25 years of experience to Blue Heron from assignments at companies ranging from startups to Fortune 5, in the oil, semiconductor and computer-related industries. He holds degrees in Math, Computer Science, and Operations Research from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
“I’m very eager to take on this new challenge to guide Blue Heron to a new level of capability. Blue Heron has accomplished some amazing things in its five-year history and I see my primary task as freeing up some very talented people to continue to do what they do best,†Mr. Fess commented.
About Blue Heron
Blue Heron Biotechnology is a pioneer and leader in the gene synthesis market, producing nearly ten million base pairs of DNA since its inception in 1999. Blue Heron’s proprietary GeneMaker® technology provides customers access to complex synthesized genes that are difficult or impossible to synthesize with other companies’ standard processes. Blue Heron regularly produces both simple and complex genes from less than 100 base pairs to over 20,000 base pairs.