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Joe has more than 10 years of experience within the
biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. He currently serves as the
CEO of BioPAD, a company funded by the Department of Science and
Technology (DST) to grow the biotech sector in South Africa.
At BioPAD he is responsible for a portfolio of more than 8
companies, 6 platforms and 15 projects worth more than R200 million of
investments. His vision is to make BioPAD become a word-class
innovation centre of choice for local and international entrepreneurs
wanting to develop and commercialize biotechnology innovations within
the BioPAD region in South Africa. He plans to move BioPAD to the next
level of intensity by following a more proactive interventionist
approach to developing the biotech industry. The implementation of this
strategy will require a strong focus and emphasis on activities that
build the industry such as stakeholder engagement, entrepreneur's
development and support, marketing of investments within BioPAD's
portfolio and initiating various activities to attract the business
community to the Biotech sector.
Before joining BioPAD he worked as a Portfolio Manager at Cape
Biotech Trust (CBT) where he was part of the executive team overseeing
a portfolio of 12 start-up biotech companies. Joe spent 12 years in the
USA where he both studies and worked. In the USA he worked for American
Red Cross in Maryland, the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)
in New York and for Baxter Healthcare Corporation in New Jersey.
He received both his B.Sc. and B.Sc. (honors) degree in
Biochemistry (1994) from The University of the Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg, South Africa; a Masters degree in Biology (1996) from
Howard University in Washington DC (USA); and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry,
Microbiology and Molecular Biology (2000) from The Pennsylvania State
University in Pennsylvania (USA); and an MBA (2007) from the University
of Cape Town Graduate School of Business in South Africa.
Joe is passionate about three things: (1) developing and
working with entrepreneurs developing biotechnology ventures, (2)
helping others find their true purpose and tapping into their potential
through personal coaching and motivational leadership, (3) promoting
and sharing African, Caribbean and Jamaican music (hence, he is also
known as DJ Mazoza, www.djmazoza.com).
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