Biocom California Appoints New Members to its Board of Governors

Biocom California, the association representing the California life science industry, today announced that it appointed Jeffrey Hessekiel, executive vice president and general counsel at Exelixis, and Michael Boss, senior vice president at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, to its board of governors.

“Mr. Hessekiel and Mr. Boss are valuable additions to our board of governors, which consists of prominent life science leaders with deep industry knowledge representing regions across the state,” said Joe Panetta, president and CEO of Biocom California. “As the California life science industry evolves, we rely on the expertise and insight from our board to ensure we continue to equip member companies with vital resources as well as advance key initiatives that foster growth and innovation.”

Mr. Hessekiel has been executive vice president, general counsel and board secretary at Exelixis for the past 10 years. He is also currently on the national board and is co-chair of the San Francisco Bay Area affiliate of Life Science Cares, a collective effort of life science companies to eliminate the impacts of poverty and inequity in our communities. Before Exelixis, Mr. Hessekiel was senior counsel at the law firm Arnold & Porter, and previously worked at Gilead Sciences. At Gilead, he held a broad variety of positions of increasing responsibility in the legal department, completing his time there as chief compliance & quality officer, where he was responsible for the creation and management of Gilead’s Corporate Compliance & Quality organization. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hessekiel worked in both the litigation and corporate departments at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati PC, as well as in the litigation department at Heller Ehrman LLP, and before that he worked in the United States and overseas for several international non-governmental organizations focused on humanitarian aid and refugee assistance. Mr. Hessekiel received his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and is admitted to practice in California. Mr. Hessekiel received dual undergraduate degrees in political science and cross-cultural studies (Asia) from Duke University.

Mr. Boss is currently senior vice president in the San Diego region for Alexandria Real Estate Equities, where he is principally responsible for execution of the region’s real estate investments and capital markets activity. Mr. Boss is also involved with developments and redevelopments, ventures, leasing, and other strategic opportunities across Alexandria’s San Diego region. Prior to joining Alexandria, Mr. Boss spent nearly five years as the Region Head-Southwest for Nuveen Real Estate. His region covered Southern California, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, as well as all product types including life science, industrial, office, multi-family, and retail. Previously, he spent 10 years at GE Capital where he focused on real estate investments, development, and asset management. Mr. Boss received his master’s degree in real estate from University of San Diego and his B.S. in economics from Pennsylvania State University.

About Biocom California

Biocom California is the leader and advocate for California’s life science sector. We work on behalf of more than 1,700 members to drive public policy, build an enviable network of industry leaders, create access to capital, introduce cutting-edge STEM education programs and create robust value-driven purchasing programs.

Founded in 1995 in San Diego, Biocom California provides the strongest public voice to research institutions and companies that fuel the local and state-wide economy. Our goal is simple: to help our members produce novel solutions that improve the human condition. In addition to our San Diego headquarters, Biocom California operates core offices in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, with satellite offices in Sacramento, Washington, D.C. and Tokyo. Our broad membership benefits apply to biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, genomics and diagnostics companies of all sizes, as well as to research universities and institutes, clinical research organizations, investors and service providers.

For more information on Biocom California, please visit our website at www.biocom.org. Connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter (@BIOCOMCA).

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