Palo Alto, California; May 11, 2015 – Centrillion Technologies, a leading genomic technology company developing and commercializing transformative genomic analysis tools, has named Dr. James Zhang as its new Chief Strategy Officer. Dr. Zhang, a geneticist turned entrepreneur and venture capitalist, will join the executive team with responsibilities in corporate strategy, strategic business development, investor relations, and Asia Pacific operations.
Genomics is a core technology empowering precision medicine and life sciences research. The market for genomics tools is predicted to grow rapidly in the next decade with numerous applications in oncology, non-invasive prenatal testing, precision medicine, agricultural applications, and consumer genomics. Centrillion is developing and commercializing genomic technologies that dramatically improve accuracy, reduce costs, and improve efficiency of genomics research and diagnostics.
“We are excited to have Dr. Zhang join us,” noted Dr. Wei Zhou, President and CEO of Centrillion Technologies. “James’ experience in biotechnology, entrepreneurship, and corporate strategy and financing will greatly benefit our customers and collaborators.”
“Advances in genomics are outstripping the exponential curve of Moore’s Law by a big margin. I am extremely excited to join the Centrillion team to develop breakthrough technologies to enable the continuation of that trend,” added Dr. Zhang. “You don’t get the chance to build a billion dollar company every day.”
Before joining Centrillion, Dr. James Zhang was a founding partner at Formation 8, a Silicon Valley based venture capital fund with over $1B under management. He is also a senior advisor and Venture Partner of China based GRC SinoGreen Fund. Prior, James was a venture capitalist at Softbank China Venture Capital and Khosla Ventures. As a biotechnologist, James co-founded BioConsortia and Mendel Biotechnology, where he led business development. He received his undergraduate training in biological sciences from the University of Science and Technology of China. He has a PhD in Genetics from the University of California Davis and completed his post-doctoral and business training at Stanford University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, respectively.