Novato’s Buck Institute hires new CEO, gets $10M gift
The Buck Institute for Research on Aging has appointed Eric Verdin, MD, as its new CEO and president, replacing Brian Kennedy, who resigned after about six years. The Buck, which has an annual budget of about $34 million, also announced a total of $10 million in new donations from its board of trustees, the largest single collective gift in its history.
“Today marks a true milestone at the Buck and an incredible investment in our future,” stated Larry Rosenberger, chair of the board on Nov. 18. “I would characterize the $10 million funding commitment by our board of trustees and the hiring of Eric as the basis for creating our future.”
Verdin served as associate director and senior investigator of Gladstone Institute for Virology and Immunology, based in the Mission Bay district of San Francisco, where UCSF has major facilities for biotech research. He is a professor of medicine at UCSF.
Belgium-born Verdin came to Gladstone in 1997 and became its associate director in 2004. He earned his medical degree from the University of Liege, in Belgium, then trained at Harvard Medical School. Verdin held faculty positions at the National Institutes of Health and at Picower Institute for Medical Research in New York.
“I am honored to be named president and CEO of the Buck Institute,” Verdin said in a statement. “I have enormous admiration, respect and belief in the ability of the Buck and its scientists to lead the science and change the course of aging. We plan to make a major contribution to extending the healthy years of life.”
The Buck Institute was the country’s first independent research organization focused entirely on the connection between aging and chronic disease.
Verdin serves on the National Scientific Advisory Council of the American Federation for Aging Research. He is an inventor on 15 published patents and published more than 210 scientific papers. At Gladstone, he researched the role of metabolism and diet in aging, and on chronic diseases of aging, including Alzheimer’s. In particular, Verdin studied the role of caloric restriction to increased health and lifespan.
No details were released about who provided money toward the $10 million board donation. The Buck’s 25-member board of trustees is packed with business leaders, including: Larry Rosenberger, chairman, former president and CEO of the software company Fair Isaac; Richard Rosenberg, former chairman and CEO, Bank of America; Charles Stockholm, former chairman, Citibank International; Richard Bodman, CEO of PurThread Technologies, served as assistant secretary of U.S. Dept. of the Interior; Louis Ciminelli, chairman and CEO of LPCiminelli, international construction firm, former trustee and chair of New York Power Authority; James Edgar, management consultant; founding member of Edgar, Dunn and Co.; Roy Eisenhardt, former president of Oakland A’s baseball team; Darla Flanagan, general partner, MKD Investments, manages real estate assets for family investment company; and Charles La Follette, president of La Follette Capital, former board member, Pacific Stock Exchange.
