New appointments made by Board of Visitors
The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors has recently approved recommendations for several new appointments and one re-appointment to the Policy Board of the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI). George C. Nolen, Ben J. Davenport, Jr., and Brad Fenwick join the board as new members, while Tom Rust has been reappointed for a further 4-year term of office.
George C. Nolen, president and chief executive officer of Siemens Corporation and a current member of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, has been named as Chair of the Policy Board. He will replace former Chair Mr. Jacob Andrew Lutz, III, who has been appointed Rector of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
A Virginia Tech graduate, Nolen became president and chief executive officer of Siemens Corporation on Jan. 1, 2004. In this role, he leads the 70,000 Siemens employees working in the United States. The $18.8 billion U.S. company, which represents approximately 20 percent of Siemens’ global revenues, is a leader in healthcare technology and information management, power generation and transmission, automation and controls, lighting, information and communications technology, transportation, and building technologies. He is also chairman of the board of Siemens One, the U.S. company’s sales and marketing organization that helps to develop integrated solutions for Siemens’ products, services and solutions.
Also joining the Policy Board are Ben J. Davenport, Jr. and Brad Fenwick. Ben J. Davenport is chairman of First Piedmont Corporation in Chatham and former Rector of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. Davenport currently serves as chairman of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors and is a highly respected member of Virginia’s business community. Hemant Kanakia steps down from the Policy Board after completing his terms of office of the Board of Visitors.
Fenwick is vice president for research and professor of infectious disease pathobiology at Virginia Tech. Fenwick is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert on zoonotic and infectious diseases of animals. The Board of Visitors also reappointed Tom Rust for an at-large 4-year term on the Policy Board. A further at large position remains to be filled.
Virginia Bioinformatics Institute’s Policy Board was established in 2000 to help guide the institute in its efforts to produce economically beneficial research for the Commonwealth of Virginia and beyond. The board exercises its authority principally in policy-making and oversight, serving in an advisory role to the university administration and helping develop, secure, and enhance resources for the institute. The role of the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute Policy Board is instrumental in advancing the economic development endeavors of the institute’s mission.
