Contact

Governance

Pacific Edge Biotechnology's board is a group which comprises of three key skill sets which are vital to Pacific Edge's long term success:

  • solid business skills and a deep rooted understanding of the New Zealand business community and the global financial environment
  • broad experience in biotechnology start-ups and the global biomedical marketplace
  • the science which is the foundation of Pacific Edge Biotechnology

These three cornerstones to our business are balanced within the current board.

Chris Swann, BCom, CA(PP), MBA - Chairman

Mr. Swann is principal of T.D. Scott and Co., a Dunedin based accountancy and consulting firm. Mr. Swann has been principal of the firm for 10 years. Mr. Swann is an experienced business advisor in various industries including the manufacturing, publishing, health and biotechnology sectors. He is currently manager of the New Zealand Seed Fund which has investment in four biotechnology companies including Pacific Edge. He also holds other directorships and is a member of the NZ Institute of Directors

Davis Farmer Image

C Davis Farmer Jr

Colin Dawson Image

Colin Dawson

Anthony Reeve Image

Anthony Reeve

Charles Davis Farmer Jnr

Mr. Farmer is the founding partner of the Ulysses Group and former manager of the New Zealand Seed Fund, the lead investor in Pacific Edge Biotechnology. He has been involved in the life sciences industry for 17 years and in company start-ups for more than 25 years. He has played a lead role in the formation of 10 companies, and has been responsible for numerous strategic deals between academic institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. His clients have included the Medical Research Council (MRC), Harvard Medical School, Hoffman LaRoche, and Cambridge Antibody Technology. He helped design and implement the MRC’s seed venture fund, MVM. He serves on the boards of two Biotech companies in the United States in addition to Pacific Edge. He currently serves as Chairman of MSM Protein Technologies Ltd based in Boston.

Colin Dawson

Mr. Dawson is Chief Executive Officer of Otago Innovation Limited, the commercialisation arm of the University of Otago. Mr Dawson is involved in the identification and development of early stage technology opportunities. He also serves as a Director in a number of NZ technology based companies including BLIS Technologies and MediaLab.
He has held a number of senior executive and consultancy positions in the public and private healthcare sectors and is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the NZ Institute of Directors and the NZBIO advisory group.

Professor Anthony Edmund Reeve, FRSNZ, ONZM

Professor Reeve is head of the Cancer Genetic Laboratory at the University of Otago. He is Chairman of the founders of Pacific Edge Technology and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. He is widely viewed as one of the leading cancer geneticists in the world. He has been a leader in the study of the genetics of Embryonal Tumours and his laboratory continues to make significant contributions to research into the genetic basis of multiple cancers. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and was recently made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. He received this honour for his ground-breaking work in cancer genetics at the University of Otago.

David Band, PhD

Dr David Band is an experienced international businessman and joins the board having recently returned to New Zealand from Europe. David's career encompasses a period as Director of the Advanced Business Programme at the University of Otago and significant experience in corporate consulting and management. This included extensive periods with Korn/Ferry International, PA Consulting Group and, most recently, Sibson Consulting. At PA he was head of the Management Development Practice. David and family have recently returned to New Zealand and resides in Dunedin.

Peter Foster PhD

Dr Peter Foster is an experienced international manager with a background in the commercialisation of biomedical technology. In addition to nine years academic research in the field of reproductive endocrinology, Peter has 27 years experience in the biotech industry (medical diagnostics) including 20 years at Board level. Peter has held senior roles with Amersham, Serono and Shield Diagnostics (now Axis-Shield) and for the six years up to July, 2007 was CEO of Euro-Diagnostica, a company based in the Netherlands and Sweden. Peter and his wife decided some time ago to move to New Zealand and they have recently moved here full time. Peter has been appointed as the CEO of Symansis, a drug discovery company based in Auckland.