BenevolentAI Strengthens its Board of Directors with the Appointment of Digital Innovation Expert Marcello Damiani

Rhea-AI Summary

BenevolentAI, a clinical-stage AI-enabled drug discovery company, has appointed Marcello Damiani to its Board of Directors, with confirmation pending at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for 4 May 2023. Damiani, a former executive at Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), brings over 25 years of experience in technology and biotech. His leadership is expected to enhance the board's diversity and support BenevolentAI's growth strategy. The company continues to focus on leveraging AI for drug development, collaborating with major institutions to advance its innovative platforms.

Positive

• Appointment of Marcello Damiani as a Non-Executive Director with substantial experience in the biotech sector.
• His tenure at Moderna is expected to add valuable insights into innovation and technology application.
• Strengthened board diversity may foster better decision-making and strategic direction.

Negative

• Concerns about continuity and experience gaps within the leadership team amidst changes.

 

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

BenevolentAI (AMS: BAI):

Public disclosure of inside information in accordance with article 17(1) of Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 on market abuse (Market Abuse Regulation)

BenevolentAI (“BenevolentAI” or the “Company”) (Euronext Amsterdam: BAI), a leading, clinical-stage AI-enabled drug discovery and development company, today announces the appointment of Marcello Damiani to its Board of Directors. His official appointment will be confirmed by the Company’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which will be held on 4 May 2023. Marcello will act as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company.

Dr. François Nader, Chairman of BenevolentAI, said: “We are pleased to welcome Marcello to our Board as a Non-Executive Director. Drawing from his senior executive leadership experience at global organisations such as Moderna and bioMérieux, Marcello offers a unique perspective and understanding of innovation in the technology and biotech sectors. His experience will further strengthen the existing diversity and knowledge of our Board as BenevolentAI continues to execute its ambitious growth strategy.”

Marcello Damiani, said: “Technologies such as artificial intelligence offer huge promise to unlock complex biology and uncover new medicines for a broad range of debilitating diseases. I am delighted to work alongside BenevolentAI’s Board of Directors and leadership team to deliver on this promise and, in so doing, deliver a new generation of transformative medicines to patients.”

Joanna Shields, Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of BenevolentAI, said: “BenevolentAI is, at its core, a technology development company with a mission to understand complex disease biology and enable scientists to make novel discoveries. Marcello’s expertise in driving innovation in biopharma will be an invaluable addition to our Board as we continue to scale the impact of our platform and AI tools.”

Marcello has over 25 years of experience in senior executive positions in both private and publicly listed companies in the aerospace, high-tech and biotech industries. He is the former Chief Digital and Operational Excellence Officer of Moderna Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA), where he built the technology, processes, and digitisation landscape required to advance a new class of medicines based on mRNA science. Before joining Moderna in 2015, he served as Sr. Vice President & group CIO at bioMérieux from 2010 to 2015, having joined in 2009 as Executive Director, IT Global Infrastructure services.

Marcello holds an MBA from TRIUM, an MSc in Information Systems Architecture from the University of Toulouse, France and a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Toulouse, France. He also serves on the Board of Cellarity, a biotech company based in Cambridge, MA.

About BenevolentAI

BenevolentAI (AMS: BAI) is a leading, clinical-stage AI-enabled drug discovery and development company listed on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. Through the combined capabilities of this AI platform, its scientific expertise, and wet-lab facilities, BenevolentAI is well-positioned to deliver novel drug candidates with a higher probability of clinical success than those developed using traditional methods. The Benevolent

Platform™ powers the Company’s in-house drug pipeline and supports successful collaborations with AstraZeneca, as well as leading research and charitable institutions. BenevolentAI is headquartered in London, with a research facility in Cambridge (UK) and a further office in New York.

Forward-looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as "plans", "targets", "aims", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "will", "may", "should" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding objectives, goals, strategies, outlook and growth prospects; future plans, events or performance and potential for future growth; economic outlook and industry trends; developments in BenevolentAI’s markets; the impact of regulatory initiatives; and/or the strength of BenevolentAI’s competitors. These forward-looking statements reflect, at the time made, BenevolentAI’s beliefs, intentions and current targets/aims. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions based on, without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in BenevolentAI’s records, and third- party data. Although BenevolentAI believes these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond BenevolentAI’s control. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause the actual outcomes and the results of operations, financial condition and liquidity of BenevolentAI or the industry to differ materially from those results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. No representation or warranty is made that any of these forward-looking statements or forecasts will come to pass or that any forecast result will be achieved.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230321006008/en/

Enquiries:

Investors:

Fleur Wood – VP Investor Relations

fleur.wood@benevolent.ai

investors@benevolent.ai

T: +44(0) 203 781 9360

Media:

Rajin Kang - VP Communications

rajin.kang@benevolent.ai

T: +44(0) 203 781 9360

FTI Consulting:

Ben Atwell/Simon Conway/Victoria Foster Mitchell

T: +44 203 727 1000

BenevolentAI@fticonsulting.com

Source: BenevolentAI

FAQ

Who is Marcello Damiani in relation to BenevolentAI?

Marcello Damiani has been appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of BenevolentAI.

What is Marcello Damiani's previous experience?

He previously held senior executive positions at Moderna and bioMérieux and has over 25 years of experience in the biotech industry.

When will Marcello Damiani's appointment to the board be confirmed?

His appointment will be confirmed at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on 4 May 2023.

How might Marcello Damiani's appointment impact BenevolentAI?

His expertise in biotechnology is expected to strengthen the board's capability in driving innovation and support the company's growth strategy.