Affymetrix Names New CEO
Dr. Witney was the head of Dionex, Panomics and Packard BioScience (see IBO 7/15/01) prior to their acquisitions. Mr. King joined Affymetrix in 2006 (see IBO 1/31/07) and was named CEO in fall 2008 (see IBO 10/31/08). Since that time, the company has narrowed its annual operating loss and is expected to be profitable this year. However, sales have declined due to a fall in gene-expression sales for and sales to pharmaceutical companies.
Santa Clara, CA 6/1/11—Microarray firm Affymetrix has named Frank Witney, PhD, president and CEO effective July 1. He succeeds Kevin M. King who resigned to pursue other interests. Dr. Witney was most recently president of Dionex (see IBO 4/15/09) and served in a senior leadership position at Panomics (see IBO 11/15/08). Panomics was acquired by Affymetrix in 2008 (see IBO 11/15/08), after which Dr. Witney was named executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Affymetrix. “Frank is a seasoned health care 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,” commented Stephen P.A. Fodor, PhD, founder and chairman of Affymetrix’s Board. Dr. Witney holds a doctorate in molecular and cell biology from Indiana University and serves on the boards of One Lambda, DVS Sciences and RareCyte.
