(MADISON, WI) John Biondi, President of C5-6 Technologies, stepped into his new role as Board Chair of Thrive last week as he led Thrive’s first Board of Directors meeting of 2008. He will serve as Thrive Board Chair through December 2008.
A noted business and community leader, Mr. Biondi served on Thrive’s inaugural Board of Directors in 2007 as Vice Chair before assuming the Chair January 1, 2008.
“We are very excited to welcome John Biondi as Board Chair of Thrive, continuing the strong leadership in that position,” said Thrive President Jennifer Alexander. “John brings a long history of selfless leadership, intelligence and dedication to the region and to Thrive’s vision of growing the region’s economy in ways that preserve and enhance the quality of life.’”
As the Madison region economic development enterprise, Thrive is placing special emphasis on the sectors of agriculture, biotechnology and healthcare, along with their enabling technologies of nanotechnology and information technology. Currently working in the bioenergy area, John Biondi has also worked in healthcare information systems, medical devices, nanotechnology and lives on a farm in Iowa County, giving him valuable experience in each of Thrive’s target sectors and enabling technology industries.
John holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri and an MBA from Georgia State University, and has over 30 years of experience spanning general management, business formation and development, marketing and sales, all in high technology. His experience includes Fortune global 1000-level companies and four previous early stage companies, two of which made successful IPO’s, and one, which he helped found, that was successfully acquired.
Recently, one of John’s earlier companies, Lucigen Corp., and its spinoff, C5-6 Technologies, received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy supporting their work in biomass energy development. In June of 2007, it was announced that The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center on UW-Madison’s Campus will include both Lucigen Corp. and C5-6 Technologies as commercial partners.
Thrive’s vision is to grow the Madison Region’s economy in ways that preserve and enhance the quality of life. The Madison Region includes: Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock and Sauk Counties.
