Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has appointed Stephane Bancel, the chief executive officer of Moderna, to its board of directors as an independent member, adding a life sciences and scale-up veteran as the fusion company pushes toward commercialization.
Bancel has led Moderna since 2011 and is widely recognized for steering the company’s rapid development and scale-up of a COVID-19 vaccine in early 2020. He is also a partner at Flagship Pioneering, the venture firm that helped launch Moderna, and previously served as CEO of French diagnostics company bioMerieux, along with holding leadership roles at Eli Lilly.
CFS said Bancel was also an early investor in the company, citing his view that the team had the discipline to execute the research, development, and engineering required to meet its scientific objectives.
The appointment follows another recent board addition. In August, CFS named former White House official and former Microsoft and General Motors CFO Chris Liddell as an independent board member.
Founded in 2018, CFS is developing SPARC, a fusion project intended to generate net energy and serve as a pathway to commercial fusion power. The company said it has raised nearly $3 billion in capital since its founding.
KEY QUOTES:
“Stephane’s expertise in developing an organizational culture that can push through leading-edge innovations, at scale, on urgent timelines will be valuable to CFS as we continue to lead this global energy transition to fusion. We are excited to have Stephane on our team as we move to commercialize this transformational energy technology.”
Bob Mumgaard, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Commonwealth Fusion Systems
“I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with the CFS team to unlock fusion’s promise of abundant energy at a time of unprecedented demand for power worldwide. The CFS team has the passion for the science, as well as the engineering and execution – all of the pieces needed to scale. The company is at the forefront of an emerging industry that will introduce a new era of energy independence and security, and I look forward to being a part of it.”
Stephane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer, Moderna
