Azenta, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZTA) today announced that Tina S. Nova, Ph.D. and Dorothy E. Puhy have been nominated for election to its Board of Directors at the Company’s 2023 Annual General Meeting. They will join as non-voting observers of the Company’s Board of Directors with immediate effect.
“We are fortunate to have candidates of the caliber of Tina and Dorothy for Azenta’s Board,” said Steve Schwartz, President and CEO. “They will bring tremendous life sciences experience to our Board and are proven value-creators in the space. Their perspectives will be invaluable as Azenta continues to expand and evolve as a leading life sciences company.”
Joseph R. Martin, Chairman of the Board of Directors, also commented, “We are pleased with our plans to welcome Tina and Dorothy as part of our ongoing Board refreshment as we continue to execute on our transformation strategy. Tina and Dorothy will bring a combined 50+ years of experience in the life sciences space, and they will be significant assets to Azenta as we continue to drive value on behalf of our shareholders.”
Tina S. Nova, Ph.D. currently serves as President of Veracyte’s CLIA U.S. Business. She served as the President & CEO of Decipher Biosciences until March 2021, when she oversaw the sale of the company to Veracyte for $600 million. Prior to that, she held various leadership roles in the life sciences industry, including CEO of Molecular Stethoscope and SVP & General Manager of Oncology at Illumina. Additionally, Dr. Nova was the co-founder, President & CEO of Genoptix, which she sold to Novartis AG in 2011 for $470 million. She currently serves on the Board of Exagen (NASDAQ: XGN) and previously served on the board of directors of Veracyte and Arena Pharmaceuticals, including when the latter was sold to Pfizer for $6.7 billion in March of this year. She holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine.
Dorothy E. Puhy spent 25 years at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, most recently serving as EVP and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to that, she was the Chief Financial Officer at Tufts-New England Medical Center Hospitals. She currently serves as lead independent director on the Board of Abiomed (NASDAQ:ABMD), chairs the Board of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and is a former director at Eaton Vance and Reebok International. She holds an M.B.A. in Health Care Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Current directors Mark Wrighton, Ph.D. and Alfred Woollacott, III have stated their intention to retire from the Board and not to run for re-election at the Company’s next Annual General Meeting. Following the next Annual General Meeting, if the nominees are elected by shareholders, Azenta’s Board will be 50% gender diverse, with an average director tenure of 7.6 years, and with a majority of directors with direct life sciences operating experience.
Azenta, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZTA) is a leading provider of life sciences solutions worldwide, enabling impactful breakthroughs and therapies to market faster. Azenta provides a full suite of reliable cold-chain sample management solutions and genomic services across areas such as drug development, clinical research and advanced cell therapies for the industry’s top pharmaceutical, biotech, academic and healthcare institutions globally.
Azenta is headquartered in Massachusetts with operations in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.azenta.com.
