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People in the News: Jörg Duschmalé, Patrick Frost, Jon Burrows, Christian Hoyer Millar, More

Mar 20, 2020 | staff reporter

Roche: Jörg Duschmalé, Patrick Frost

Roche has elected Jörg Duschmalé and Patrick Frost to its board of directors, while Andreas Oeri and John Bell have stepped down after 24 and 19 years on the board, respectively. Oeri was the representative of the current shareholder pool.

Duschmalé is a fifth-generation descendant of Roche's founder, and he was a postdoctoral researcher in oligonucleotide chemistry at Roche from 2015 to 2018. Frost has worked at life insurance company Swiss Life in Zurich since 2006, first as Group Chief Information Office and now as Group CEO. He previously served as the global head of fixed income investment at Winterthur Insurance.

Oxford BioDynamics: Jon Burrows, Christian Hoyer Millar

Maryland-based Oxford BioDynamics has appointed Jon Burrows as group CEO, replacing Christian Hoyer Millar. Burrows currently works at consulting and clinical advisory firm Oncology Partners. He previously served as president and CEO of OncoPlex Diagnostics and as director of business development and interim head of Ventana Medical Systems' translational diagnostics business unit. After Roche acquired Ventana, Burrows served as director of pharma operations. 

Millar has served as OBD's CEO since cofounding the firm in 2007, and will now serve as executive chairman.

Thrive Earlier Detection: Matt Franklin, Sarah Larson, Semi Trotto

Thrive Earlier Detection has announced the appointment of Matt Franklin as its chief commercial officer, the appointment of Sarah Larson to its board of directors, and Semi Trotto's promotion to chief people officer.

Franklin holds more than 20 years of business, commercial, and strategic marketing experience in the diagnostics, life sciences, and technology industries. Most recently, he served as chief business officer at ArcherDx, where he was responsible for various business development activities. Prior to Archer, he held senior leadership roles at both Foundation Medicine and Boston Scientific.

Larson currently serves as partner and chief human resources officer at Third Rock Ventures where she is responsible for human resources and also provides guidance and counsel to the firm's portfolio companies, focusing on areas of human capital, leadership development, and culture creation. She has more than 20 years of experience in human resources and leadership development.

Trotto, a member of Thrive's founding management team, most recently served as senior vice president and head of human resources. Before joining Thrive, she held leadership positions in human resources at Editas Medicine, Baxalta, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. She has more than 20 years of experience in the field overall.

For additional recent items on executive appointments and promotions in the omics and molecular diagnostics industries, please see the People in the News page on our website.