Full Press Release Details
Appoints CEO, Jim Blome, Former President & CEO of Bayer CropScience LP
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, Minn. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 18,
2018--Regulatory News:
Calyxt, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLXT) and Cellectis S.A. (NASDAQ:CLLS - EURONEXT
GROWTH: ALCLS) announced today the appointment of James A. Blome, former
President and CEO of Bayer CropScience LP (North America), as Chief
Executive Officer of Calyxt, effective October 1, 2018. Jim Blome will
work closely with Calyxt's Board of Directors to foster the development
of the Company's consumer-focused products, including the upcoming
commercial launch of Calyxt's first product, high-oleic soybean oil.
Jim Blome is a high-impact, global leader with over 25 years of
leadership experience in the agriculture industry, building teams and
strategies with consumer-focused cultures to better meet consumer needs
and maximize market share growth.
"We are extremely excited to have Jim Blome take the reins at Calyxt, as
this time represents a critical inflection point for the Company, given
that we expect our first healthy food product for consumers will soon
hit the market," said Dr. Andr Choulika, Chairman of Calyxt's Board of
Directors. "Having Jim join Calyxt is a huge win for the entire Calyxt
team as he is an experienced global CEO and seasoned commercial
executive with extensive expertise in consumer-focused product
development. He brings a proven track record of global operational
excellence. We look forward to ushering in an exciting new chapter for
Calyxt under Jim's leadership."
"In addition, I would like to very warmly thank Dr. Yves Ribeill for the
fantastic job that he has done in a very short period of time as interim
CEO at Calyxt. Yves has taken significant steps to position Calyxt on
track for its first commercial launch. I continue to be impressed by the
way that he has been immediately adopted by the team and motivated all
to make Calyxt a great success. Yves and Jim will work closely together
on an efficient transition. Yves will also remain a member of the Board
of Directors of the Company," added Dr. Andr Choulika.
"I am honored to take on the role as Calyxt's next CEO as the Company
has the potential to become the leader when it comes to healthier food
choices for consumers," added Jim Blome. "I look forward to working
closely with the Board, management team and talented and committed
employees to leverage all of Calyxt's truly unique capabilities and
deliver nutritionally rich, cost-effective food products. I have made it
my mission to always execute with purpose, putting the consumer first in
everything that we do."
Jim Blome grew up on a family corn and soybean farm in Hubbard, Iowa and
a graduate of Iowa State University. Prior to joining Calyxt, Jim was
the President and CEO for Bayer CropScience LP (North America). He held
executive positions at Valent (Sumitomo Chemical) and Agriliance LLC
before joining Bayer.
Jim serves as the Chairman of CropLife America, Chairman of US Farming
and Ranching Foundation, the Independent, Non-Executive Chairman of
Concentric Ag Technologies, Inc. Jim is the 2013 recipient of the Henry
A. Wallace Award from Iowa State University for outstanding leadership
and service to agriculture.
Kincannon & Reed, a leading executive search firm focused on the food,
agribusiness, and biosciences sectors, assisted Calyxt in the
recruitment of Jim Blome.
Calyxt, Inc. is a consumer-centric, food- and agriculture-focused
company. Calyxt is pioneering a paradigm shift to deliver healthier food
ingredients, such as healthier oils and high fiber wheat, for consumers
and crop traits that benefit the environment and reduce pesticide
applications, such as disease tolerance, for farmers. Calyxt develops
non-transgenic crops leveraging processes that occur in nature by
combining its leading gene-editing technology and technical expertise
with its innovative commercial strategy. Calyxt is located in
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, and is listed on the Nasdaq market (ticker:
For further information please visit our website: www.calyxt.com
Calyxt and the corporate logo are trademarks owned by Calyxt, Inc.
TALEN is a registered trademark owned by Cellectis S.A.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify these
statements by forward-looking words such as "may," "might," "will,"
"should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates,"
"predicts," "potential" or "continue," the negative of these terms and
other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements, which
are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may
include projections of our future financial performance, our anticipated
growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These
statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and
projections about future events. There are important factors that could
cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements
to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward looking statements,
including those factors discussed under the caption entitled "Risk
Factors" in Calyxt's Annual Report on Form 10-K, and Cellectis' Annual
Report on Form 20-F and the financial report (including the management
report) for the year ended December 31, 2017 long with other Calyxt and
Cellectis subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. We do not assume any obligation to publicly provide
revisions or updates to any forward looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should
circumstances change, except as otherwise required by applicable laws.
Jennifer Moore, VP Communications
email: media@calyxt.com
KCSA Strategic Communications
email: ckasunich@kcsa.com / nopich@kcsa.com
Simon Harnest, VP Corporate Strategy and Finance
email: simon.harnest@calyxt.com