Quantum-Si Inc., a Guilford-based life sciences company, announced Tuesday that Jeff Hawkins will take over as chief executive officer starting Oct. 10.
Hawkins replaces Jonathan Rothberg, the company’s founder, who has been serving as interim CEO since February. Rothberg had stepped in temporarily to replace John Stark, who departed after being in the position for over a year.
Hawkins will lead the company’s growth efforts as it prepares to launch its Platinum instrument, developed to enable next generation, single-molecule protein sequencing. The technology will be used to advance medical breakthroughs in the areas of drug discovery and disease treatment, according to the company.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Jeff to Quantum-Si,” Rothberg said. “He is a proven business leader and life sciences inventor with decades of experience driving commercial excellence and execution in both early-stage and mature companies.”
Hawkins’ background includes more than two decades of experience at life science companies.
Hawkins previously served as president and CEO at Truvian Sciences Inc., where he led the evolution of that company’s benchtop blood testing system from concept into late-stage development.
Hawkins’ career also includes time leading the reproductive and genetic health business unit at Illumina Inc., where he helped double the unit’s revenue during his tenure.
“Jeff was instrumental in identifying key market segments and scaling next generation DNA sequencing at Illumina, making him an ideal CEO to leverage this experience at Quantum-Si with next-generation protein sequencing,” Rothberg said.
Under Hawkins’ leadership, Quantum-Si’s technology is slated to be introduced to the commercial market for the first time this fall.
Hawkins said he is excited to be joining the company for this launch, and he predicts its technology will be an “indispensable tool for life sciences research.”
“Quantum-Si’s technology has the ability to make the power of single-molecule protein sequencing affordable and readily available,” Hawkins said in an announcement.
Hawkins’ career has also included working at GenMark, Hologic, Third Wave Technologies and Abbott Laboratories. Hawkins is co-inventor on 10 issued or pending patents, primarily related to instrumentation, optics, manufacturing methods and designs.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.
