Enigma Diagnostics Expands Its US and European Executive Management Teams

11-30-2009: Enigma Diagnostics Limited, the decentralised and point-of-care molecular diagnostics company, announced four senior appointments for its US and European offices.

Dr. Jorge Garces will lead the US team as President and CEO with Greg Hamilton, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, USA. Stationed at Enigma's new U.S. headquarters in San Diego, California, the headquarters will expand rapidly with a recruitment programme planned for assay development, R&D and commercial activities.

Dr. Garces joins the Enigma team after serving as Vice President of R&D and Site Operations Manager at Hologic, Inc. where he managed the R&D, clinical and manufacturing business unit in Madison, WI. During his tenure at Hologic, Dr. Garces was responsible for the product development of the company's molecular diagnostics business and clinical trial strategies, which attained FDA approval for groundbreaking Cystic Fibrosis and HPV products.

Dr. Garces holds a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from the City University of New York. He received his post-doctoral fellowship training at the University of Massachusetts Medical School specialising in neurobiology, biochemistry, cell and molecular biology.

Mr. Hamilton joins the Enigma team after serving as Vice President of Operations, Planning and Analysis for Hologic, Inc.'s business unit specialising in women's healthcare products. Formerly Vice President of Finance and Operations at Third Wave, he was instrumental in developing the company's strategy, leading the sale of the company to Hologic, Inc. for $582M in 2008. Prior to Hologic, Mr. Hamilton was CFO at iLeo, Leo Burnett's former direct marketing company, where he increased its business revenue to double-digit growth and an 11x increase in profitability.

Mr. Hamilton graduated from Purdue University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and earned an MBA in finance, strategy and entrepreneurship from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Also joining the management team is Nick Williams, appointed as Chief Financial Officer Europe, and Darren Hall, appointed Chief Operations Officer Europe.

Mr. Williams joins Enigma with 15 years of experience in finance leadership. Most recently, he completed a second exit process with Alchemy Partners as CFO of 100m Pounds Sterling IT services group, Calyx. At Alchemy-backed industrial products group Truflo International plc, he was part of the team that achieved a 66% annual return to investors. Earlier in his career, Mr. Williams held a number of senior finance roles during a period of rapid growth with Biocompatibles International plc, a UK medical devices group. As Finance Director, he played a key role in the sale of Biocompatibles' contact lens business to Cooper Companies for over 110m pounds. Mr. Williams is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and qualified with KPMG.

Mr. Hall joins Enigma with 12 years of extensive international experience in the healthcare and medical devices sectors. He achieved a successful track record at board level while at Graseby Plc, Smiths Industries and Biocompatibles Plc. During this time, he was heavily involved in a number of successful acquisitions and divestments. Mr. Hall has specific expertise in bringing new products to market and in developing successful operational and supply chain strategies.

Most recently, Mr. Hall was Managing Director of the Singapore based start-up Clearlab International, a subsidiary of 1800 Contacts Inc., where he led the successful business scale up. During his tenure, following the acquisition of a UK based manufacturing business; Mr. Hall led the successful transfer of manufacturing and technology from the UK to Singapore. Working closely with Mr. Williams, he successfully prepared the Clearlab business for acquisition leading to a successful exit for 1800 Contacts Inc.