Ghent, Belgium
June 6, 2012
QUINVITA, the Industrial Crop Technology Company today announced that Johan Cardoen has accepted to become member of its board of directors in the capacity of chairman of the board.
Johan Cardoen takes up this role with great excitement: “I am pleased to take on the responsibilities as QUINVITA’s chairman of the board. QUINVITA belongs to the world’s top companies in its field of research and development on Jatropha curcas. I have been active in the biotech industry for 24 years and I hope to add strategic vision to further develop and expand the business of QUINVITA."
Henk Joos, the CEO of QUINVITA is extremely pleased that Johan Cardoen has accepted this appointment: “Johan Cardoen is an authority in the field of biotechnology and global agriculture. Johan developed and realized a successful exit for CropDesign by pursuing a dual track strategy (trade sale/IPO). His experience will be of pivotal importance in the further development of QUINVITA as a company. I look forward to working with Johan as a mentor and as firm sounding board.”
QUINVITA is one of the global market leaders in the science and development of Jatropha curcas as a sustainable bio-energy crop. Over the years it has developed a unique knowledge base in Jatropha genetics, agronomy and processing and it is one of the few companies in the world with a combination of seeds, technology and knowledge that is readily available for practical implementation in Jatropha plantations. QUINVITA has a broader knowledge base on other novel industrial crops and on traditional agricultural crops based on the collective experience of the QUINVITA management.
Johan Cardoen has a PhD in Science (KU Leuven, 1987). After a postdoc, he was recruited by Plant Genetic Systems (PGS), one of the pioneers in the agriculture biotech industry worldwide. Since mid 1988, Johan Cardoen has been professionally active in the biotech industry where he executed diverse management functions. These 24 years of experience enabled him to build a vast network of contacts both in industry and the academic world, as well as with all relevant stakeholders (investors, government and administration).
In December 2004 Johan Cardoen became the CEO of CropDesign, a VIB spin-off. CropDesign was acquired by BASF in June 2006. Under his leadership, CropDesign administered 140 employees, mainly in R&D. Since 2007 Johan Cardoen has also been the Chairman of FlandersBio, the umbrella organization of the biotech sector in Flanders. On June 1st 2012 Johan has become the managing director and director technology transfer of VIB, the world renowned Flemish Institute for Biotechnology. Johan has been an independent company director of arGEN-X B.V. (until Dec 2011) and still is an independent board member of Applied Maths N.V.
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