06.26.23
Amyris CEO and President John Melo has resigned from both his role and as board of directors member.
The company's board appointed CFO Han Kieftenbeld as interim chief executive officer until a permanent replacement is secured.
Kieftenbeld will remain the company's chief financial officer.
"John's dedication and leadership were instrumental in the evolution of Amyris' Lab-to-Market technology platform and the development of our diversified consumer brands portfolio,” said Geoffrey Duyk, board chair of Amyris. “On behalf of the board of directors, I sincerely thank John for his many contributions over the last 16 years. We have utmost confidence in Han's ability to lead Amyris as interim chief executive officer through this critical period of transformation."
The leading synthetic biotechnology company accelerating the world's transition to sustainable consumption through its Lab-to-Market technology platform and clean beauty consumer brands also announced a global reduction in force as an important step towards its previously announced cost reduction targets.
As announced earlier this month, the company has engaged the business recovery services unit of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to guide its transformation efforts. As part of this process, the Company aims to deliver Fit-to-Win cost actions of approximately $250 million. This effort includes optimizing the costs of goods sold, reducing operating expenses and streamlining the business portfolio.
"We are making tough choices, including the decision to implement a reduction in force which we are executing today. We thank our departing employees for their efforts, dedication and contributions to Amyris," said Kieftenbeld.