[Yakup Newspaper] Toolgen Reorganizes from Function-Based Organization to 'Therapeutics Business'-Centered Structure
2019-04-16
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Yakup Newspaper
Gene editing technology company TOOLGEN Inc. (CEO Kim Jong-moon) announced an organizational restructuring centered on therapeutic drug business on the 15th at Seoul Innovation Park. TOOLGEN restructured from a 1 Center 2 Division system consisting of a function-oriented R&D Center, Business Division, and Management Support Division to a 3 Division system composed of Therapeutic Drug Business Division, New Business Division, and Management Support Division. Kim Seok-joong, Executive Director, was promoted to head the Therapeutic Drug Business Division, and Gu Ok-jae, Director, was promoted to head the New Business Division. Executive Director Kim Seok-joong completed his doctorate at Texas Health Science University and began related research at Professor Kim Jin-soo's laboratory in the Department of Chemistry at Seoul National University. He has worked at TOOLGEN since 2010, serving as the head of the Research Institute and handling business development and IR operations. However, as the newly appointed head of the Therapeutic Drug Business Division, he will oversee the development of therapeutic agents using gene-editing technology. Director Gu Ok-jae completed his doctorate at Seoul National University and worked as a veterinarian at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Samsung Electronics' Research Institute. After joining TOOLGEN in 2016, he led a licensing agreement with Monsanto in 2017. With his appointment as head of the New Business Division, he will oversee green bio and platform bio businesses. CEO Kim Jong-moon stated, "This organizational restructuring is particularly meaningful as Kim Seok-joong and Gu Ok-jae are the first to be promoted to executive positions through growth within the organization rather than external recruitment." Meanwhile, TOOLGEN held a 'Team Building Organizational Culture Workshop' with social innovation company builder 'Underdogs' on the 15th at Seoul Innovation Park under the theme 'Innovate Genome, Create Value' to ensure smooth integration of this organizational restructuring.
