Peter Meldrum

Myriad Genetics' former CEO Peter Meldrum passed away on Dec. 20, 2018, at the age of 71.

Meldrum co-founded Myriad in 1992 with Mark Skolnick, and led the company through many milestones, including its public offering in 1995, the launch of the flagship BRACAnalysis test, the acquisitions of Myriad RBM and Crescendo Bioscience, and the firm's expansion outside the US. By the time he retired in 2015, Myriad had grown to employ 2,500 people and had performed more than 2 million genetic tests.

After his retirement, Meldrum was the executive director of The Meldrum Foundation, his family's private charitable foundation that supports educational, artistic, and humanitarian programs. He was also chairman of the board of directors for Golden Pine Ventures, a biotech-focused venture capital firm.

Meldrum was born in 1947 in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1970, he received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Utah, and four years later received his MBA from the same institution. Westminster College awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Science in 2004 and the University of Utah gave him an honorary Doctorate of Engineering degree in 2009. Scientific American in 2002 selected him as one of the Top 50 Scientific Visionaries in the World.