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Industrial and Environmental Focus Session

"From Fuel to Food to Fashion: Industrial Biotech Does It All"

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
9:30 AM
Astor Salon

The emergence of industrial biotechnology is revolutionizing nearly every aspect of manufacturing. From cellulosic ethanol and bio-butanol to healthier cooking oils and breakthrough biobased fabrics, industrial biotech is providing a new triple bottom line paradigm for industry – inspired by nature.  Leading experts and investors discuss how industrial biotechnology is changing the way things are made – and why it’s a technology worth investing in.

Brent Erickson will provide an overview of industrial biotechnology through his talk titled, "From Fuel to Food to Fashion: Industrial Biotech Does It All".  Roger Wyse will assess the state of the industry and provide his predictions for the coming year in "Industrial Biotechnology Performance in 2007 and Outlook for 2008".  David Berry will deliver a view from the venture capital community in "The Genomics Revolution Goes Industrial: An Investor's Perspective".  Lastly, Bill Caesar will highlight the different investment opportunities within industrial biotech through his talk titled, "The Prospects for Market Growth in Industrial Biotech Over the Next Decade".

Moderators

Panelists

Who's Who

Matt Carr is Policy Director for the Industrial & Environmental Section of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Washington, DC-based trade association for the biotechnology industry.  Matt joined BIO in 2005 after serving as Energy and Environment Fellow on the Senate Agriculture Committee for Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), where he helped develop the biomass provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.  Prior to coming to Washington, Matt was environment reporter for the Dallas Morning News. He has also taught high school and middle school math and science. He holds a PhD in Climate Sciences from the University of Washington in Seattle, and a Bachelor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from McGill University in Montreal.

Brent Erickson is executive vice president in charge of the Industrial and Environmental Section at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and 31 other nations. Mr. Erickson holds a B.S. in Biology and an M.A. in International Studies. After completing his undergraduate degree, he was involved in fossil fuel research for three years at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Laramie Energy Technology Center.  After completing graduate school Mr. Erickson joined the staff of U.S. Sen. Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.) as a legislative assistant handling energy, public lands, environment, defense and arms control issues. In 1993, Mr. Erickson became legislative director and managed all legislative and policy issues for the Senator, who was then the Senate Republican Whip.  In 1996, Mr. Erickson joined the American Petroleum Institute (API) as a Washington representative where he directed government relations efforts on energy and environmental issues. He was chosen to chair a Senate task force of the multi-industry Air Quality Standards Coalition. While at API he earned three special achievement awards.  Mr. Erickson joined BIO in 2000 as director of the Industrial and Environmental Section. He was promoted to vice president in 2001 and executive vice president in 2005.  In May of 2001, Mr. Erickson was elected vice-chair of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Task Force on Biotechnology for Sustainable Industrial Development, a position he held until 2005. In September 2001, he was selected to be a member of a Senate Agriculture Committee advisory group charged with developing renewable energy proposals, which were ultimately included in the final 2002 farm bill legislation. He headed up the Bioenergy/Agriculture Working Group of the Energy Future Coalition, an advocacy coalition funded by the United Nations Foundation, and he continues to be active in the coalition. In 2005 he was named consulting editor of the journal Industrial Biotechnology. Since 2000 he has served as a member of the board of directors of the Western Research Institute, the not-for-profit arm of the University of Wyoming Research Corporation.

Dr. Roger Wyse is Managing Director and General Partner of Burrill & Company, a life sciences merchant bank and leading Life Sciences Venture Capital firm located in San Francisco, California. Dr. Wyse joined Burrill in 1998 and has led the development of Burrill & Company's agriculture, nutraceuticals, Health & Wellness, and industrial biotechnology related activities in venture capital investing, and merchant banking. The firm has over $1.2 billion under management.
Dr Wyse chairs or serves on the boards of 11 private companies. He is Co-Chairman of the $150M Malaysian Life Capital Fund and is a member of the International Advisory Panel for Biotechnology (BioIAP) for the Prime Minister of Malaysia. He was founder and Chairman of the Alliance for Animal Genome Research. He has over 30 years of experience as an internationally recognized scientist and as a Dean at two major research universities; Rutgers and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Immediately prior to joining Burrill & Company, Dr. Wyse served for 5 years as Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 1986 - 1992 he served as Dean of Research at, Rutgers University. In research, Dr. Wyse earned international recognition for his basic studies in plant biochemistry. He published over 150 scientific papers. In recognition of his research accomplishments he received the prestigious Arthur Flemming Award in 1982 as the Outstanding Young Scientist in the US Federal Service. He was elected a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America and The American Society of Agronomy. He also served as a consultant to numerous Fortune 500 companies.

David Berry is a Principal at Flagship Ventures. He joined Flagship in 2005 while completing his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. David was previously awarded a Ph.D. through the MIT Biological Engineering Division, where he studied the biological effects of complex sugars with advisors Professor Ram Sasisekharan and Professor Robert Langer. David also did his undergraduate work at MIT, graduating in 2000 Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi, with a degree in brain and cognitive sciences. He was named as a member of the MIT Corporation - its Board of Trustees - in 2006. David's work has led to 11 peer-reviewed publications, over 20 patents and applications, as well as over twenty-five awards and honors including the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Student Prize in 2005 for invention and innovation. David was also named as the Innovator of the Year by Technology Review in its 2007 TR35 list of world’s top 35 innovators under the age of 35. At Flagship, David focuses on investing in and founding early stage life science and cleantech ventures and works closely with portfolio companies BG Medicine, T2 Biosystems, Epitome Biosystems and LS9.

Bill Caesar is a Principal in the Atlanta Office of McKinsey & Company. Bill is a leader in the North American Energy & Materials practice, focusing on basic materials, chemicals and building products companies. For the last two years, Bill has acted as co-leader of the Firm’s knowledge development effort focused on biofuels. Since joining the Firm, he has worked with a diverse group of clients, primarily on business strategy, growth, and business-to-business marketing issues. His recent client efforts on biofuels include: ¶ Working with a global chemical company to assess the feasibility of developing and producing biofuel through a new technological process ¶ Identifying investment opportunities in the ethanol market for a global oil company ¶ Identifying opportunities across the biofuel value chain and across geographies for a global agro-chemical company ¶ Assessing the market potential for genetically modified crops designed to enhance biofuel production as part of a due diligence effort for a global private equity player ¶ Outlining potential business opportunities and threats created by expanded biofuels production for a company engaged in the agricultural inputs industry. Bill is the co-author of “The Biofuel (Re)-Evolution,” which appeared in the December issue of World Energy Forum and “Betting on Biofuels,” which appeared in the Spring issue of The McKinsey Quarterly. Prior to joining McKinsey, Bill was a Special Assistant for Ambassador Thomas Simons, the Coordinator of the U.S. assistance program in Russia and the NIS. Bill also served as a Russian political and economic analyst at the U.S. State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, where he focused on defense conversion and nationalities issues. While at the State Department, Bill served for over one year at the U.S. Consulate General in St. Petersburg, Russia and has made numerous trips to Russia and Central Asia. Bill holds an M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, where he was awarded a Keller Scholar Fellowship and graduated as a Fuqua Scholar. Bill also holds an M.A. in Russian Studies from Georgetown University and a B.A. in Russian Studies from Colgate University where he graduated cum laude.