Thousand Oaks, California, USA
September 15, 2014
Ceres, Inc. announced today that its board of directors elected Cheryl Morley to serve as its chair. The agricultural biotechnology and seed company also announced that former director Pascal Brandys has rejoined the board and will assume the chair of the company's audit committee previously held by Ms. Morley.
"On behalf of the board of directors and the company, I would like to thank Ms. Morley for assuming the chair of the board and look forward to her ongoing role in shaping our business strategy. Her familiarity with the company and her extensive experience in the plant science and health sectors will continue to benefit Ceres and its stockholders," said Richard Hamilton, President and CEO of Ceres.
Mr. Hamilton also welcomed back Mr. Brandys to the company's board. "I would like to thank Mr. Brandys for his willingness once again to serve on our board. He brings a wealth of financial and business expertise to Ceres and keenly understands the potential of our intellectual property portfolio and the impact that our genomics and biotechnology platforms can have in multiple crops and industries."
Ms. Morley has served on Ceres' board of directors since August 2011. In addition to Ceres, she currently serves on the boards of Mercy Health System, Fleming Pharmaceuticals and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. She previously held various board roles at Mercy Health Plans, the Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise and Indevus Pharmaceuticals. From 2003 to 2009, she was senior vice president of corporate strategy with Monsanto Company, having previously led Monsanto's animal agricultural group. She also held a number of other leadership positions at Monsanto and its subsidiaries, including the marketing and business development efforts for Monsanto's NutraSweet product. Ms. Morley holds a B.S. degree from the University of Arizona and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Mr. Brandys previously served on Ceres' board of directors from December 1997 to March 2014. He is the president and managing member of Biobank Technology Ventures, an early-stage life sciences investment company, which he co-founded in 2001. He was previously a co-founder of the genomics company Genset S.A., and also served as its chairman and chief executive officer from 1989 to 2000. Mr. Brandys is currently a director of several private companies and previously served as a director of Ilog S.A and Innogenetics N.V. He holds an M.S. in Economic Systems from Stanford University and is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique of Paris.
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