- Push-out Score determined
- After almost 11 years in the position
- Praise and thanks for Kirk
- Helen Sabzevari taking over
- Kirk will remain as Executive Chairman at Intrexon
- Kirk spoke at length and said 158 words
(exechange) — Germantown, Maryland, January 2, 2020 — This news came the day after New Year’s Day. RJ Kirk, chief executive of Intrexon, leaves his position. As announced by Intrexon Corp. in a news release on Thursday, January 2, 2020, Randal J. (RJ) Kirk leaves his post as Chief Executive Officer at the biotechnology company after almost 11 years in the role, effective immediately.
Among the 3,000 largest publicly held companies incorporated in the U.S. based on market capitalization, the average tenure of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months was 7.6 years, according to data compiled by exechange. On an accumulated basis, around 28% of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months left their posts after more than 10 years.
RJ Kirk’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Helen Sabzevari, most recently President of Precigen.
“An appropriate time for the company to institute a leadership change”
RJ Kirk’s departure from the CEO post is explained as follows. Kirk said: “There never has been a more exciting time in healthcare, and I know that Dr. Sabzevari has the vision, drive and commitment to lead the new Precigen into the future to continue advancement of its robust pipeline. Moreover, with its additional support for its cash runway, its budgeted outlay significantly reduced and the present state of its clinical and preclinical pipeline, it is an appropriate time for the company to institute a leadership change, especially at this time in favor of Helen.”
Intrexon announced that it will refocus the company on healthcare, change its name to Precigen, Inc. and, effective immediately, has appointed Helen Sabzevari, PhD, as President and CEO.
The new Precigen will encompass Intrexon’s wholly-owned healthcare subsidiaries Precigen, ActoBio Therapeutics, Exemplar Genetics, and its majority ownership interest in Triple-Gene, as well as equity and royalty interests in therapeutics and therapeutic platforms from companies not controlled by Intrexon.
Kirk will remain as Executive Chairman at Intrexon
“Randal J. Kirk has been appointed Executive Chairman. Additionally, Intrexon has executed binding agreements to sell its smaller non-healthcare businesses for $65.2M plus certain contingent payment rights and entered into an agreement to sell $35M of its common stock. The proceeds from these transactions, combined with the company’s cash and short-term investments on hand at December 31, 2019, approximates $175 million thus attaining Intrexon’s year-end objective,” Intrexon said.
Share price decline
The announcement follows a decline in Intrexon Corp.’s share price of 92% since July 2015.
In the position of CEO since 2009
RJ Kirk became CEO of the Company in 2009.
Kirk has served as the Company’s Chairman of the Board since February 2008 and as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer since April of 2009.
Kirk currently serves as the Senior Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Third Security, LLC, an investment management firm founded by Kirk in March 1999.
Additionally, Kirk founded and became Chairman of the Board of New River Pharmaceuticals Inc. (a biopharmaceutical company previously traded on Nasdaq prior to its acquisition by Shire plc in 2007) in 1996, and was President and Chief Executive Officer between October 2001 and April 2007.
Since May 2015, Kirk has served as a member of the board of directors of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Previously, Kirk served as a member of the board of directors of Scios, Inc. (previously traded on Nasdaq prior to its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson) between February 2000 and May 2002, as a member of the board of directors of Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: HALO), a clinical stage biotechnology company, from May 2007 to May 2018, as a member of the board of directors of ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIOP), a biotechnology company, from January 2011 to October 2018, and as a member of the board of directors of Clinical Data, Inc. (previously traded on Nasdaq prior to its acquisition by Forest Laboratories, Inc. in April 2011) from September 2002 to April 2011, and was Chairman of the board of directors from December 2004 to April 2011.
Kirk served on the board of visitors of Radford University from July 2003 to June 2009, was Rector of the board of directors from September 2006 to September 2008 and served on the board of directors of the Radford University Foundation, Inc. from September 1998 to May 2011.
He served on the board of visitors of the University of Virginia and Affiliated Schools from July 2009 to October 2012, on the Virginia Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates from July 2006 to October 2012 and on the Governor’s Economic Development and Jobs Creation Commission from April 2010 to October 2012.
Kirk received a B.A. in Business from Radford University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding the management change on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to Intrexon and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 1.2020 ($).