GreenLight Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on RNA research, design and manufacturing for human, animal and plant health, today announced the appointment of Thomas Crampton as the company's Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs.
"Regulatory approvals last year moved RNA vaccines from the realm of scientific theory to medical reality and made them a core tool to combat the COVID-19 pandemic," said Charles Cooney, Chairman of GreenLight's board. "Thomas brings the strategic experience, global outlook and leadership skills to scale GreenLight's ambition to match the transformative potential for RNA across life sciences, agriculture and beyond."
Crampton, who will report to GreenLight CEO and co-founder Andrey Zarur, will lead strategy for marketing, communications and government affairs.
"Thomas will ensure that we effectively communicate our mission of applying science to solve the world's biggest challenges, engaging with investors, partners, regulators, customers and the general public," said Andrey Zarur, GreenLight's president and chief executive officer. "He brings an agile approach with global and forward-facing skills to engage the full range of stakeholders necessary to realize GreenLight's full impact."
Founded in 2008, GreenLight has raised $250M to date and is rapidly expanding to new market opportunities in human health, animal health and plant health. Last year, GreenLight raised $100M+ in an oversubscribed series D round to accelerate efforts around a COVID-19 vaccine and messenger RNA manufacturing.
Key investors include Morningside, Baird Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Fall Line, S2G Ventures, Lupa Systems Capital, Continental Grain Company and Prelude Ventures.
"Decades of advances in biology, computing and engineering have converged to open a historic moment when we can harness new technologies for the benefit of society and the planet," Crampton said. "It is an honor to join a mission-driven team so uniquely positioned to scale RNA technology in ways that benefit the world."
Crampton joins GreenLight from The Commons Project Foundation, where as the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer he led the launch of many high-profile initiatives, including CommonHealth and CommonPass, data-sharing platforms that protect user privacy. He also worked on the CommonTrust Network, run in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and the U.S.–focused Vaccination Credential Initiative. The Network and Initiative accelerate people's ability to access their COVID-19 test and vaccination records. He remains a trustee of The Commons Project.
Prior to that, Crampton led global marketing and communications teams based out of the U.S., Europe and Asia. He was Global Chair, Digital at Edelman, Global Principal for Ogilvy Consulting and Global Managing Director for Social@Ogilvy. Clients included MSD Merck, Philips, McKinsey, Nestlé and Samsung.
Thomas was formerly a foreign correspondent and columnist for The New York Times and International Herald Tribune based out of Asia, Europe and the United States. He covered the 2003 SARS outbreak in Asia, rare diseases in Africa, the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign, economics and technology.
About GreenLight Biosciences, Inc.
GreenLight Biosciences is an integrated life sciences company with a cutting-edge platform to deliver higher-quality RNA at a lower cost and more quickly than was ever before possible. GreenLight develops RNA products and collaborates with industry leaders to advance vaccine development, pandemic preparation, crop management, plant protection and support the health of bees and other pollinators. The GreenLight team values diversity, inclusion, and equality and promises to use collaboration to remain scientifically imaginative and passionately focused on making a difference in the world. For more information, visit https://www.greenlightbiosciences.com/
