Codexis has appointed Ross Taylor as Senior VP and CFO effective 19 August. Taylor will be responsible for managing all aspects of the protein engineering company’s financial, accounting, investor relations, and several corporate administrative functions, and will report to President and CEO, John Nicols.
Codexis CFO Gordon Sangster will remain with the company through the end of August, at which time he will retire.
“Ross brings to Codexis more than 20 years of healthcare financial leadership experience, most recently as CFO of Abaxis. Given his extensive industry experience and equity capital markets background, I am confident he will seamlessly step in to help Codexis continue to grow and succeed,” explained Nicols. “Additionally, his significant analytical strengths and strategic approach, refined across a diverse set of businesses and industry sectors, position him to add significant value as we expand across a growing set of markets and partnerships.”
Taylor served as CFO at Abaxis from 2015 through the sale of the company to Zoetis in July 2018. Abaxis was a diagnostic instruments and consumables company for both the veterinary and human healthcare markets with $245 million in annual revenue at the time of the acquisition.
Previously as CFO, Taylor was VP of Business Development and Investor Relations at Abaxis. Prior to this, Taylor served for more than 20 years in equity research at various Wall Street firms including CL King & Associates, where he covered healthcare equipment and supplies, UBS, where he covered biotechnology, and Smith Barney, where he covered healthcare services.
Taylor holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School with concentrations in accounting and finance, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Duke University.
“I am thrilled to join Codexis at this exciting time as the company pursues growth across its core business and an increasing number of verticals. I look forward to working with John, the entire management team and the board to drive the company’s future success and enhance value for our investors,” Taylor said.
Nicols added: “We are grateful that our outstanding CFO Gordon Sangster will remain through August to ensure a smooth transition to Ross. On behalf of our board and the entire team at Codexis, I thank Gordon for his significant contributions to the renewed growth of Codexis under his five years of exceptional leadership. We wish him all the best in his retirement.”
