Ganesh Kishore

CEO, Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund

Ganesh M. Kishore is CEO of the Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund, a joint venture between Burrill & Company and the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation. He has a distinguished track record of accomplishments in biotechnology R&D and businesses. After receiving a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Science, he received postdoctoral training in chemistry and biology and also served as a Robert A. Welch Fellow at The University of Texas at Austin. He then joined Monsanto as a Senior Research Biochemist responsible for developing processes for the synthesis of Aspartame, the active ingredient of Nutrasweet and Equal. He subsequently led the development of the technology behind Roundup Ready and ultimately the entire agricultural technologies and biotechnology for the Monsanto Company. Dr. Kishore was named a Distinguished Science Fellow, the highest honor bestowed upon scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the company but also the scientific field in general and, Assistant Chief Scientist of the company. He won the Queeny Award, a prize given by Monsanto in recognition of his contributions to the development of Roundup Ready technology. In addition to his personal contributions, as the leader of Plant Sciences Research at Monsanto, his team developed and commercialized most of the agribiotech products that are on the market today. He played a pivotal role in the transformation of the chemical company into a life sciences company and headed efforts on a series of investments in genomics technologies within the company. He retired from Monsanto after serving as the President of its Nutrition and Consumer Products division as well as the Chief Biotechnologist.

Dr. Kishore joined DuPont in 2002 as the Chief Technology Officer for its Agriculture and Nutrition Platform and took over the role of Chief Biotechnology Officer for the company in 2005. During his tenure at DuPont, he guided the acquisition of several key technology companies and relationships and bolstered the biotech competence within the company.