WuXi NextCODE Appoints Baidu Veteran John Gu to Drive Growth of Genomic Data Platform in China

- Former CIO of China internet giant will oversee key China pillar of WXNC's global data platform strategy

- The expansion of WXNC's platform will provide an ever more powerful engine for consumer genomics and precision medicine in China and worldwide

SHANGHAI, CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts and REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi NextCODE, the global standard platform for genomic data, today announced the appointment of John Gu as Chief Digital Officer, leading data onboarding for the company's growing China platform. Gu, who joins the company from digital innovation consultancy Silver Sand Technologies, was formerly chief information officer for Baidu, the leading internet service provider and search engine in China, and held successive senior technology positions at Alcatel-Lucent in Europe and the US.

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"John has played a key role in the growth of world-leading technology platforms and we are thrilled to have him leading the expansion of our data strategy in China," said Hannes Smarason, CEO of WuXi NextCODE. "Our aim is ambitious: to enable patients and consumers across China not only to benefit from their own genomic data but also empower them to use it to advance precision medicine for others across the country and around the world. John's experience in organizing massive amounts of data and connecting the individuals and enterprises that generate and use it is uniquely suited to executing this vision."

"Putting the genome to work to improve health and medicine is the biggest data opportunity in the years ahead," said John Gu. "WuXi NextCODE's global platform for genomic data is leading the way in realizing this opportunity, and China is at the heart of this strategy. I am very excited to put my efforts to work building this platform in China and to develop and deliver the benefits of the genome to people everywhere." 

As the CIO of Baidu, Mr. Gu defined the enterprise IT strategy for one of the world's largest search engines and the leading cloud service provider in China.  In the dozen years prior, ultimately as the group CIO of Alcatel-Lucent, he led global IT functions, including IT transformation, SW development, enterprise cloud services and data management.  He also served as a management consultant at Booz Allen and PwC. Mr Gu holds a BS in computer science and electrical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, an MS in computer science from Loyola University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

About WuXi NextCODE

WuXi NextCODE is a fully integrated contract genomics organization (CGO) building the global standard platform for genomic data. With offices in Shanghai; Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Reykjavik, Iceland, we serve the leading population genomics, precision medicine, diagnostics and wellness initiatives and enterprises using the genome to improve health around the world. Our capabilities span study design, sequencing, secondary analysis, storage, interpretation, scalable analytics, and AI and deep learning – all backed by the most proven and widely used technology for organizing, mining and sharing genome sequence data. We are also applying the same capabilities to advance a growing range of sequence-based tests and scans in China. WuXi NextCODE is a WuXi Group company. Visit us on the web at wuxinextcode.com.

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http://www.wuxinextcode.com