Villa Guardia (Como), Italy - August 6, 2009, Villa Guardia (Como), Italy - Gentium S.p.A, a biopharmaceutical company, announced that five of the eight members of the board of directors have resigned, following the announcement of Laura Ferro, the chairperson of the board, president and CEO, of her intention to step down as CEO. That means the automatic termination of the entire board of directors.
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The resigning directors are Gigliola Bertoglio, Luca Breveglieri, Marco Codella, Laura Ferro and Andrea Zambon.
Dr. Ferro has served as president and chief executive officer and one a director since 1991 Dr. Ferro is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of our largest shareholder, FinSirton. She also serves as Vice President of Sirton, as a member of the board of directors of each of FinSirton, Sirton and Foltene Laboratories S.p.A., a former subsidiary of FinSirton that is in the hair care products business. From 1991 to 1997, Dr. Ferro held various executive positions at Sirton, including Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the research and development unit. Prior to that, Dr. Ferro was a practicing physician for 15 years. Dr. Ferro is the chairperson of the research committee of Europharm and a member of the executive committee of Farmindustria, an Italian pharmaceutical industry group. Dr. Ferro received her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Milan, and a MBA from Bocconi University in Milan in 1994. Dr. Ferro is a licensed physician. She was certified in psychiatry at the University of Milan in 1981 and in Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Milan in 1994.
Gigliola Bertoglio has served as a director since December 2004. Ms. Bertoglio has been a self-employed consultant since January 2003. From 1970 through 2003 she was employed by Reconta Ernst & Young (the Italian affiliate of Ernst & Young LLP) and its predecessors and was an audit partner beginning in 1977. From 1977 to 1989, Ms. Bertoglio was a partner of the Italian firm of Arthur Young & Co. She was also an Audit Manager and an Audit Principal with the Arthur Young & Co. in its Rome and Milan offices. She was a Certified Public Accountant (active license to August 31, 2002, inactive after that) in the United States and included in the Register of Authorized Auditors of Consob, the Italian Stock Exchanges regulatory agency of public companies.
Luca Breveglieri has served as a director since April 2006. Mr. Breveglieri is an Italian-qualified attorney and has been a partner of Breveglieri Verzini e Soci, an Italian law firm, since 2000. From 1982 to 2000, Mr. Breveglieri was the founding partner of Breveglieri e Associati. Mr. Breveglieri is an Italian certified public accountant. Mr. Breveglieri received a degree in law from Universita degli Studi, Pisa, Italy, in 1977.
Marco Codella has served as a director since June 2005 Mr. Codella has been the Chief Financial Officer of Sigma Tau Industrie Farmaceutiche Riunite S.p.A., a professor of Economics and Management Accounting at University of Rome, La Sapienza, the Finance, IT and Logistics Director of Crown Cork & Seal Italy S.p.A. From 1990 to 1994, Mr. Codella held various finance positions at Digital Equipment Italia S.p.A., an Italian subsidiary of Digital Equipment Corporation, and he was the Finance Manager of an Italian subsidiary of Ampex Corporation. Mr. Codella was also an auditor at Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, an accounting firm. Mr. Codella is a director of Sigma Tau Farmaceutiche Riunite S.p.A., Eubiotina Research S.p.A., Biosint S.p.A., Avantgarde S.p.A., SigmaTau Health Science S.p.A., Techogen S.p.A. and Kenton S.r.l., each of which is a subsidiary of Sigma Tau Finanziaria S.p.A., and Fonchim, a pension fund for chemical industry workers. Mr. Codella is an Italian certified public accountant. Mr. Codella graduated summa cum laude from Rome University in 1984 with a degree in economics. ■