Cerus Promotes its COO to Top Job

Cerus Corporation Chief Operating Officer (COO) Vivek Jayaraman will soon be moving into the corner office.

The company recently announced that Jayaraman will become president/CEO on July 1, succeeding William “Obi” Greenman, who will become executive board chairman. Jayaraman will join the Board of Directors upon his promotion.

“Following a thorough succession planning process, this transition represents a natural step as we prepare for the next phase of growth at Cerus,” lead independent board director Frank Witney said. “The board and I are deeply grateful to Obi for his contributions as CEO. Looking ahead, we are very confident that Vivek is the ideal leader for Cerus as the company enters its next chapter.”

Jayaraman joined Cerus in August 2016 as chief commercial officer and has served as COO since March 2020, overseeing commercial operations, supply chain, and customer service. During his tenure at Cerus, Jayaraman led the company’s growth from less than $40 million in annual product revenue to more than $200 million last year.

Before he was hired at Cerus, Jayaraman led TriVascular’s commercial expansion as the company grew from a preclinical, venture-backed startup into a publicly traded, global medical device company. Before TriVascular, Jayaraman served in numerous executive roles at Medtronic in both the United States and Asia.

Jayaraman earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and dual bachelor’s degrees from the University of Michigan.

“I’m honored to lead Cerus, in partnership with our employees, during this exciting next chapter,” Jayaraman stated. “We will broaden patient access to the INTERCEPT Blood System globally, expand our leadership in transfusion medicine, and improve patient outcomes. I am very grateful to Obi and the Cerus Board of Directors for entrusting me with this opportunity to serve.”

Greenman was hired in 1995 as vice president of business development and then served as senior vide president, business development and marketing. From 2006 to 2008, Greenman worked as president, Cerus Europe, and then chief business officer from April 2010 to April 2011, when he became president/CEO. He held the top job for more than 15 years. Under his leadership, Cerus transformed from a pre-clinical development company into a global commercial enterprise with product sales in 40-plus countries.

Before joining Cerus, he worked in various marketing and business development positions in Baxter’s Biotech Division from 1991 to 1995. Greenman previously was a board member at both Aduro Biotech and Chinook Therapeutics, serving on the Audit and Compensation Committee chairs, respectively, for a more than a decade.

Greenman earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and biological sciences from Stanford University.

“I am proud of the progress Cerus has made in advancing blood safety and availability,” Greenman commented. “Having worked with Vivek for nearly a decade, I am confident that he is the right person to lead Cerus towards the goal of making INTERCEPT the global standard of care. My goal has always been to establish Cerus as an enduring company. With four FDA product approvals in the past decade, a robust innovation pipeline, and a solid financial foundation, the company is well-positioned to continue to lead the field of pathogen inactivation. As executive chair, I look forward to supporting Vivek as Cerus continues to deliver on its mission.”

Cerus Corporation aims to safeguard the world’s blood supply and become the preeminent global blood products company. Headquartered in Concord, Calif., the company develops and supplies vital technologies and pathogen-protected blood components to blood centers, hospitals, and patients. The INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma is available globally and remains the only pathogen reduction system with both CE mark and U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for these two blood components. In the United States, the INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation is approved for the production of Pathogen Reduced Cryoprecipitated Fibrinogen Complex (commonly referred to as INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex), a therapeutic product for treating and controlling bleeding, including massive hemorrhage, associated with fibrinogen deficiency. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is under regulatory review in Europe, and in late-stage clinical development in the United States.