Investors
Board of Directors
Debra J. White
Director
Debra J. White has served as a director since April 2021. Ms. White is a prominent UK-based global industry executive with broad business leadership experience, including as a chief executive, financial executive, public company director and strategic consultant, in multiple sectors in Europe and the United States, including the healthcare services, molecular genetics and biopharmaceutical industries. She has served on the board of directors of Howden Joinery Group PLC (LSE: HWDN), a UK-headquartered FTSE250 multinational building trade supplier with 10,000 employees and over $2 billion in revenue since February 2017, and sits on its Audit, Renumeration and Nominating Committees. She has served as a trustee of Wellbeing of Women, a UK charity which invests in medical research and development of specialist clinicians in women’s health, since March 2013. From September 2020 to March 2021, Ms. White served as a strategic consultant to Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd., a UK-based biotechnology company which develops and commercializes DNA/RNA sequencing technologies, advising it on product and go-to-market strategy for its emerging Oxford Nanopore Diagnostics business unit. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, from March 2020 to July 2020, Ms. White worked with the UK Department of Health and Social Care to help establish COVID-19 testing facilities across the nation. From September 2017 to December 2019, Ms. White served as Group CEO of Interserve Group (LSE: IRV), a UK-headquartered multinational group of support services and construction companies with 75,000 employees and over $4 billion in revenue, during a challenging period which required her to implement complex strategic financing and operational programs prior to its restructuring and sale to its creditors. From January 2004 to August 2017, Ms. White served in various senior executive roles at Sodexo SA (Euronext: SW), a Paris-headquartered multinational diversified services company with 440,000 employees and over $20 billion in revenue, including as Chief Financial Officer and later Chief Executive Officer – Sodexo UK & Ireland, Group Senior VP Strategic Projects, Senior VP and Chief Financial Officer – Sodexo North America, an $8 billion revenue subsidiary, and finally as Executive Board member and Global Chief Executive Officer – Healthcare and Government, two global businesses with a combined 100,000 employees and over $7 billion in revenue. While at Sodexo, she served on its global body that promoted the development of women across the company and was inducted into the Women 1st Top 100 Club, a network of the most influential women in the industry, which highlights the role models and leaders who have achieved success at the highest levels. From 2000 to 2003 she served as a Director at PWC Consulting advising a range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, on integration, financial performance improvement and post-merger integration. From 1987 to 2000, Ms. White served in various financial and strategic roles at AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) a UK-headquartered, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, including Head of Finance – Manufacturing, Head of Internal Audit – Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, Controller – Specialty Chemicals, Controller – Corporate Operations and Senior VP Global Merger Integration. She began her career as a senior tax advisor at Arthur Andersen & Co. Ms. White received her master’s degree in Economics from Cambridge University, Cambridge UK. The Company believes Ms. White is well-qualified to serve on the Board due to her extensive executive leadership experience, including financial and strategic roles at numerous global companies, including in healthcare services the life sciences industry, her experience as a public company director, her relationships with financial firms active in Europe and the U.S, her commitment to promoting health during the Covid-19 pandemic and her role as a champion and role model for women executives.
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