ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Essen BioScience, Inc. (“Essen” or the Company), a leading provider of critical analytical instrumentation, software, reagents and services used in cell-based life science research, is pleased to announce that Brett Williams will succeed Kirk Schroeder as President of the Company. Mr. Schroeder will continue with the business as VP of Research and Development alongside Brad Neagle, who co-founded the business with Mr. Schroeder and serves as VP of Engineering and Operations.
Brett Williams is an accomplished life sciences executive with outstanding leadership experience and an impressive record of success growing and improving the market position and performance of companies through focused business strategies and acquisitions. Brett comes to Essen from Thermo Fisher Scientific (formerly Life Technologies) where he served in a number of capacities including, most recently as VP and General Manager Cellular Analysis business unit and previously as Cellular Analysis Market Development Leader and Senior Director, Cellular Analysis Essentials. At Thermo Fisher Scientific, Brett led the design and implementation of strategies to drive sustainable growth by instituting customer-centric product management and new product development plans, excellence in sales and marketing execution, and a focus on continuous operational improvements throughout the organization.
“I am very excited that Brett has accepted the CEO position at Essen,” said Kirk Schroeder. “I believe he has the right experience, approach and energy to lead our company forward and his addition will allow Brad and me to focus exclusively on continued product innovation. I’m confident that the combination of Brett’s leadership, our record of innovation and the strategic and financial resources of SFW Capital is a formula for continued, long term success."
“The team at Essen has a long history of developing ground-breaking instruments that have proven to be major enablers in the cell-based research market. Essen has unique and differentiated product technology with a broad set of very high-value applications, deep customer relationships and an extremely innovative culture. It was a very compelling opportunity for me to lead the team at Essen and build upon the Company’s strong foundation, and partner with Kirk, Brad and the rest of the management team to make the investments that will insure that we can continue to deliver innovative solutions and excellent service to our customers,” said Mr. Williams.
About Essen BioScience, Inc.
Essen BioScience, based in Ann Arbor, MI, is a leading provider of critical analytical instrumentation, software, reagents and services used in cell-based life sciences research. Essen was founded in 1999 by Kirk Schroeder and Brad Neagle who have previously been responsible for “best/first in class” innovations in the field of cell-based in-vitro assays and instrumentation with FLIPR in 1994 and IonWorks in 2002. Essen’s flagship product, the IncuCyte ZOOMTM live-content imaging system, provides researchers unparalleled access to quantitative, kinetic cellular biology while improving data quality and streamlining image collection through automation of the cell analysis process. The IncuCyte is used at hundreds of locations across the world in labs focused on cell production, microscopy/ imaging, assay development and screening. The technology is applicable to almost every cell-based research area including oncology, stem-cell science, and neurobiology. Essen serves the leading biopharmaceutical, academic and research institutions around the globe through offices in Michigan, the United Kingdom and Japan. For more information, please visit http://www.essenbioscience.com
About SFW Capital Partners
SFW Capital Partners is the leading investor in analytical tools and related services companies, including providers of instrumentation, software, information and business services. Our 20+ years of knowledge of the relevant business models, technology, competitive dynamics and service requirements gives us a unique ability to support management teams in growing their companies and building value. For more information, please visit www.sfwcap.com
