Quantum-Si founder Jonathan Rothberg takes over as interim CEO
Jonathan Rothberg
Quantum-Si Inc., a Guilford-based life sciences company, announced Monday that the company’s founder, Jonathan Rothberg, who also chairs its board of directors, is now interim CEO.
Rothberg succeeds John Stark, who had been CEO since November 2020. Rothberg took over as of Feb. 8, and will remain in the position while the board searches for a new long-term replacement for Stark.
The company did not give a reason for Stark’s departure.
“The board and John Stark mutually agreed that he should resign so that John could pursue other opportunities,” Rothberg said in a conference call Monday evening.
Rothberg is an inventor, scientist and entrepreneur who has successfully founded and launched multiple life science and medical device companies. In addition to Quantum-Si, which is focused on commercializing single-molecule protein sequencing, Rothberg has been involved in several well-known companies, such as Butterfly Network, Detect, Hyperfine and Tesseract Health.
“Quantum-Si’s first-of-its-kind next generation protein sequencing has the potential to impact immunology, diagnostics and drug development in the same way that next generation DNA sequencing impacted oncology and precision medicine,” Rothberg said.
Quantum-Si remains committed to the commercial launch of its technology in 2022, he added.
“Two years into a global pandemic, this technology is more important than ever,” Rothberg said. “We need to fully understand our immune response to COVID-19 as well as other pathogens.”
As interim CEO, he will work to advance the company’s protein-sequencing technology and commercialization strategy, according to an announcement.
“Our goal is to bring next-generation protein sequencing to the world,” Rothberg said, in the conference call. “The results of our work has the potential to save the lives of people we love. It is that motivation that continues to fuel myself and our team.”
While Rothberg has several business endeavors, he said his focus is now on Quantum-Si and hiring a permanent CEO who will lead its team to success.
“I am focused on making sure we meet our goals and launch a product this year,” Rothberg said.
When asked what he is looking for in a new CEO, Rothberg said he wants someone who will inspire the team.
“I want somebody who not only understands the commercial opportunity, but understands how to lead engineers and scientists to have a massive impact on new technology.”
The company has been expanding and announced plans to move its headquarters to a larger space in New Haven this year.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.
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