Two Prominent State Biotech CEOs Resign: Gardner from BayBio and Eaton from AzBio

Two state biotech execs with roots in the Maryland biotech community resigned from their posts last week. Bob Eaton, the former CEO of MdBio, resigned from AZBio. Matt Gardner, the CEO of BayBio, and former executive director of the Tech Council of Maryland's Bioscience Alliance, also resigned his post late last week.

Both were members of the board of directors of the Council of State Bioscience Associations (CSBA), the national group comprised of all 44 state bio trade associations across the USA.

BayBio chief Matt Gardner resigns
Matt Gardner, president of local biotech trade organization BayBio for six years, has resigned.

In an email from Chairman Bill Young to BayBio members, Gardner said he would “pursue other opportunities.” Gardner did not specify what he was considering or when he would officially step down from BayBio.

“I have worked with the BayBio board of directors to effect a smooth transition plan designed to deliver the organization to new heights,” Gardner wrote.

In six years under Gardner’s leadership, BayBio has grown more than 150 percent in membership, he noted, and is nearing 500 members at its 20th anniversary. The organization also has added new programs, including lobbying, advocacy, communications, group purchasing, entrepreneurship and science education.

BayBio serves more than 900 life sciences companies.

Gardner, who bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of San Diego, came to BayBio from the Maryland Bioscience Alliance, where he was director, and spent six years as North American business development director for the government of Queensland, Australia.

San Francisco Business Times

And here is the news on Bob Eaton...

Eaton out, Green takes over at Arizona BioIndustry Association
Bob Eaton has quietly left the Arizona BioIndustry Association, and a new president and CEO already has been named.

Eaton is resigning his position under a mutual agreement with the AZBio board.

His replacement, Robert Green, is a longtime Tucson biotechnology entrepreneur who has formed and operated several biotech companies since moving to Tucson in 1989. Late last year, he sold Integrated Biomolecule Corp. to Ventana Medical Systems/Roche Group.

On Sept. 24, AZBio held its annual awards dinner, honoring six companies and individuals who are changing the world through bioscience innovation. Ventana was named Bioscience Company of the Year, while Applied Microarrays Inc. of Tempe received the Fast Start Award.

Martin Shultz, vice president of government affairs at Pinnacle West Capital Corp., received the Jon W. McGarity Leadership Award. Bruce Rittman, director of the Center for Environmental Biotechnology at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, won the Award for Research Excellence.

Arizona Rep. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, received the Public Service Award, and the Bioscience Educator of the Year Award went to Barbara Fransway, outreach coordinator and research specialist at the University of Arizona’s Arizona Research Laboratories.