SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veracyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCYT), a global genomic diagnostics company, today announced its executive leadership succession plan, with industry veteran Marc Stapley to succeed Veracyte cofounder, Bonnie Anderson, as chief executive officer. Ms. Anderson will move into an active executive chairman role, serving as a trusted advisor to Mr. Stapley, for the next few years to ensure a smooth transition, and will continue to serve on the board. Mr. Stapley will also join Veracyte’s board. The CEO succession is effective June 1, 2021, with Mr. Stapley joining the board after Veracyte’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on June 7, 2021.
“Since Veracyte’s beginning, we have set out on an ambitious vision to become a global genomic diagnostics enterprise that leverages deep insights to transform care at every step of the patient’s journey, from early detection of cancer and other diseases, to diagnosis and treatment decisions,” said Bonnie Anderson, Veracyte’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Today, the pieces are in place to execute and further build upon that vision. Our broad menu of current and pipeline tests span the care continuum across a wide range of diseases. Further, with exclusive access to our best-in-class diagnostics platform, we are uniquely poised to bring our highly differentiated and clinically impactful tests to benefit patients globally.
“Now is the perfect time to implement Veracyte’s CEO succession plan,” continued Ms. Anderson. “We are thrilled that Marc has agreed to join Veracyte as CEO and I am excited to work closely with him to achieve our vision and guide the company to achieve its full potential.”
Ms. Anderson cofounded Veracyte in 2008 and served as the company’s president and CEO until 2016, when she was also appointed chairman of the board. She led Veracyte’s initial public offering in 2013, has spearheaded commercialization of its market-leading products and has overseen the company’s global expansion.
“Veracyte is uniquely positioned in the genomic testing market with its breadth and depth of offerings, centralized and distributed tests, significant global opportunity and highly talented team,” said Mr. Stapley. “Bonnie and the Veracyte team have put in place the key strategic pieces upon which to build and execute on multiple avenues of growth. I look forward to bringing my industry experience to bear as we forge ahead with our global expansion plans and improve outcomes for patients worldwide.”
Mr. Stapley will join Veracyte from his current role as the chairman and chief executive officer of Helix, Inc., a leading population genomics company. Under Mr. Stapley’s leadership, Helix has built one of the largest COVID-19 testing labs in the United States and has become a national leader in viral surveillance. Mr. Stapley was appointed CEO in April 2019 and has been a member of Helix’s board of directors since 2015, when the company was founded.
Prior to Helix, Mr. Stapley served in key executive leadership positions at Illumina, Inc., the global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical and applied markets. While at Illumina, Mr. Stapley served as chief financial officer, chief administrative officer, and executive vice president over the course of seven years, where he led many functions including G&A, corporate strategy, business development, population genomics and government affairs.
Before joining Illumina, Mr. Stapley was senior vice president, finance at Pfizer Inc. and was responsible for global financial processes and systems, leading integration efforts for key acquisitions and providing oversight to the company’s largest technology investment program. Prior to that he served in a variety of senior finance roles at Alcatel-Lucent, Cadence Design Systems, Inc, and Coopers & Lybrand.
John Bishop, Veracyte’s lead independent director and former chairman and CEO of Cepheid, said, “On behalf of the entire board of directors at Veracyte, we welcome Marc to the company in the CEO role. His broad global leadership experience, proven track record of strategic execution and strong commercial expertise makes him well suited to lead the company forward, with Bonnie at his side. There is a lot of work ahead of us and we are delighted to have Marc’s leadership as we enter this next phase of Veracyte’s growth.”
Conference Call and Webcast Details
In a separate press release issued today, Veracyte announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.
The company will host a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss its first quarter 2021 financial results, as well as the succession plan. The conference call will be webcast live from the company’s website and will be available via the following link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/j5wohmjh. A replay of the webcast will be available following the conclusion of the live broadcast and will be accessible on the company’s website at https://investor.veracyte.com/events-presentations.
The conference call can be accessed as follows:
U.S./Canada participant dial-in number (toll-free): |
(855) 541-0980 |
|
International participant dial-in number: |
(970) 315-0440 |
|
Conference I.D.: |
2846256 |
About Veracyte
Veracyte is a global genomic diagnostics company that improves patient care by providing answers to clinical questions, informing diagnosis and treatment decisions throughout the patient journey in cancer and other diseases. The company’s growing menu of genomic tests leverage advances in genomic science and technology, enabling patients to avoid risky, costly diagnostic procedures and quicken time to appropriate treatment. The company’s tests in lung cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, bladder cancer and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis are available to patients and its lymphoma subtyping and renal cancer tests are in development. With Veracyte’s exclusive global license to a best-in-class diagnostics instrument platform, the company is positioned to deliver its tests to patients worldwide. Veracyte is based in South San Francisco, California. For more information, please visit www.veracyte.com and follow the company on Twitter (@veracyte).
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, our statements related to our ability to successfully transition the chief executive officer role; our plans for global expansion; and the use of our tests to improve patient outcomes. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: “appears,” "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "expect," "believe," "should," "may," "will," “positioned,” “designed” and similar references to future periods. Actual results may differ materially from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from our predictions, and include, but are not limited to Veracyte’s executive transition; Veracyte’s ability to successfully integrate the Decipher Biosciences business and execute on our business plans; Veracyte’s ability to launch, commercialize and receive reimbursement for our products; and the performance and utility of Veracyte’s tests in the clinical environment. Additional factors that may impact these forward-looking statements can be found under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 22, 2021 and our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. A copy of these documents can be found at the Investors section of our website at www.veracyte.com. The risks and uncertainties may be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused significant economic uncertainty. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts Veracyte’s businesses, operations, and financial results, including the duration and magnitude of such effects, will depend on numerous factors, which are unpredictable, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of the outbreak, its severity, the actions to contain the virus or treat its impact, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and, except as required by law, Veracyte specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements or reasons why actual results might differ, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Veracyte, Afirma, Percepta, Envisia, Prosigna, "Know by Design" and the Veracyte, Afirma, Percepta, Envisia and Prosigna logos are registered trademarks of Veracyte in the U.S. and selected countries. Decipher Biopsy, Decipher RP, Decipher Bladder and Decipher GRID are trademarks of Decipher Biosciences. Veracyte has common law rights and pending trademark applications for LymphMark and “More About You.”
