Benitec announced this week that John McKinley has resigned as chairman and CEO of the company. He will remain as a non-executive director, Benitec said.

According to the company, COO Sara Cunningham has become acting CEO. She joined Benitec in 2004 when it acquired Avocel, an RNAi company she co-founded. Prior to starting up Avocel, Cunningham was senior manager of business development at B-Bridge International. Before this, she served as strategic and international marketing manager at BD Biosciences Clontech.