The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center named a new chair of its board of trustees, Kathy Surace-Smith, a senior vice president at NanoString Technologies and life sciences industry veteran who has served on the board for the past six years.
Surace-Smith succeeds Matt McIlwain, the Madrona Venture Group managing director who was named to the role two years ago amid a broader influx of tech industry leaders on the Fred Hutch board. McIlwain remains on the board of the Seattle-based research institute as immediate past chair.
The naming of the new chair is one in a series of changes on the board, standard transitions based on preset terms for each role.
However, changes come at a pivotal time, five months after the arrival of Dr. Thomas Lynch as the new Fred Hutch president, and as scientists in the institute’s infectious disease unit continue to play key roles in researching, investigating and addressing the regional and global COVID-19 pandemic.
New additions to the board are Dr. Connie Kravas, former senior vice president for advancement at the University of Washington and the president emeritus of the UW Foundation; and Pete Shimer, chief operating officer for global consulting and accounting firm Deloitte.
Existing board member Leigh Morgan, chief strategy and operating officer for Seattle-based nonprofit Nia Tero, was named board vice chair.
Health tech advisor Peter Neupert, former Microsoft health leader and Drugstore.com CEO, is leaving the board after three consecutive terms.
Fred Hutch employs more than 3,000 people and is ranked first in National Institutes of Health funding among all U.S. independent research centers.
