CEO Today USA Awards

www.ceotodaymagazine.com 22 CEO Today USAAwards 2017 CALIFORNIA California-based Finesse Solutions, Inc. had a proven record in providing turnkey, scalable solutions for single-use upstream bioprocessing. Finesse’s goal was to lower the cost of biological drug products (cancer therapeutics and vaccines), and to enable medicine to become more readily available, especially in the third world counties. Essentially, the company had a very humanitarian vision, while still enabling a profitable business. The Finesse product platform included novel disposable sensors, modular automation hardware, and intelligent software that could harmonize data and technology transfer globally. Finesse also offered a complete set of services, including commissioning and validation, for the rapid and reliable deployment of single- use equipment. For more information, visit www.finesse.com. Finesse introduced its first cGMP-capable sensors for single- use bioreactors in 2009-2010 with its TruFluor pH/DO and TruTorr products. Over 30,000 sensors have been deployed since their initial launch. Finesse also introduced the first universal controllers in 2013-2014 that could control any type or brand of upstream bioreactor from lab scale (300 mL) through production (2,000L). Over 2,000 controllers have been installed since their initial launch. Finesse SmartSystems, which comprise bio-processing vessels and SmartControllers help with improving batch replication and enhancing cell growth environments. SmartControllers are modular bio-processing equipment built from SmartParts such as SmartPump or SmartValve, namely plug-and-play units having fundamental functional capability. Starting in 2013, Finesse hosted its annual Cellworld conferences in San Francisco, CA and Shanghai, China. The Cellworld conferences, by invitation only for industry executives and entrepreneurs, are held to discuss cutting edge technologies and trends in the industry in an open forum. Today, Cellworld is an international event that has stimulated many new technological directions for both Finesse and its end user base. In 2014 Finesse made a major breakthrough in the market when it won a $20Mcontract withAlvotech, an Iceland-based company, despite severe competition. The contract entailed equipping a complete monoclonal antibody manufacturing facility with both upstream and downstream bioprocessing equipment. The so- called Finesse SmartFactory has become a premier solution for operations management of single-use facilities that optimizes resource usage, creates manufacturing (batch) reports, BARBARA PALDUS CEO of Finesse Solutions, Inc. FIRM PROFILE Barbara Paldus co-founded Finesse Solutions, Inc. (www. finesse.com) with Dr. Mark Selker in 2005. She served as CEO for the company until its acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2017. Barbara Paldus is currently the GM/VP of the Measurement and Control Business Unit within the Bio- processing Division of Thermo Fisher Scientific. Prior to the acquisition, she was also an operating partner at Skymoon Ventures, where she was responsible for working with early stage companies commercializing optical and spectroscopic technologies, including Shasta Crystals, Daylight Solutions (acquired by Leonardo DRS in 2017) and ARP (acquired by Li-Cor in 2010). Barb also serves on the boards of Remote Lands and ICE Athletic Center, two companies she funded in 2006. Barb co-founded Picarro in 1998 while a graduate student at Stanford, and served initially as Director of Research for Informed Diagnostics (which became BlueLeaf Networks and eventually Picarro) and later as the CTO for the company from 2000 through 2005. From end of 2001 to mid-2003, Barb was appointed interim CEO. She led the team that developed the company’s breakthrough photonic technology, which resulted in the introduction of a solid-state Cyan laser product line in 2003 (product line sold to Newport in 2005) and cavity ring-down spectroscopy products in 2004. Today, cavity ring- down spectroscopy has many applications ranging from scientific (e.g., isotopic analysis of ice cores or carbon cycle monitoring) to industrial (e.g., methane gas leak detection or food integrity/origin). Barb received both her Ph.D. (1998) and M.S.E.E. (1994) degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University, California, USA. She received her BS in electrical engineering and applied mathematics in 1993 from the University of Waterloo, Ontario in Canada. In 2016, the University of Waterloo awarded Barb the Alumni Achievement Medal for professional achievement “in recognition of her extraordinary vision and achievements as the co-founder and CEO of Finesse Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of measurement and control solutions for life science process applications”. Barb has also been awarded 21 patents and has 12 additional pending patent applications. ABOUT BARBARA PALDUS