Tony Barclay, Izon Science chairman.
Izon Science, the world-leading manufacturer of nano-biological separation and characterisation tools, announced today
that Tony Barclay has joined Izon Science’s board of directors as chairman, with Professor Merryn Tawhai, Chris Dineen
and Guy Bolton joining as directors. The board appointments coincide with a $10.5M equity investment from New Zealand
based private equity investor Bolton Equities.
"We are pleased to welcome some serious talent to Izon’s board with the appointment of Tony and Merryn as independent
directors, and Chris and Guy representing our new investor Bolton Equities," said Hans van der Voorn, Izon Science CEO
and its founding Chairman. “These individuals bring extremely valuable experience and skills that will help Izon execute
on its vision to grow into a truly global business.”
Van der Voorn has stepped down as Izon’s Chairman after 15 years and remains a director. “It’s an exciting new phase for
the company as we gear up to accelerate growth globally. I’m really pleased to have attracted Tony as Izon’s new
chairman – he is one of New Zealand’s most experienced and capable finance professionals with an extensive background
that is highly relevant to Izon.”
Izon’s new independent chairman Tony Barclay was CFO and Company Secretary of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (FPH), from 2001 to 2018 and worked for the company for a total of 22 years. During this time Fisher & Paykel Healthcare grew to be one of the largest and most successful companies on the NZX, growing from a relatively
small base to the current market capitalisation of over $20B.
Barclay says, “Hans and the Izon team have really impressed me - they are taking on the world and winning from New
Zealand in a fast growing global niche for nanotech identification and separation technology. I recognise similar
characteristics in the company to Fisher and Paykel Healthcare; the company is developing impressive technology that is
helping move science forward globally to improve lives. The opportunity is open-ended as the company has the potential
to become integral to global diagnosis and therapeutics markets.”
Professor Merryn Tawhai, FRSNZ, the Deputy Director of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) and Director of the
Medical Technologies Centre of Research Excellence (MedTech CORE), also joins the board as an independent director.
Professor Tawhai is a world expert in the application of computational modelling to improving clinical diagnosis and
monitoring of pulmonary disease, particularly in the older lung. The ABI and MedTech CoRE have been particularly
successful at translating highly sophisticated engineering research to commercialised medical technologies.Professor Merryn Tawhai.
Professor Tawhai says, “Izon’s technology and tools help researchers in a wide range of fundamental nano-biological
research including the bourgeoning areas of exosomes, extracellular vesicles and RNA, as researchers work to identify
biomarkers for a range of cancers and diseases such as dementia. Virology is of course an important area where we are
seeing a lot of activity, as researchers around the world seek to better understand COVID-19 and other viruses by using
information on virus characterisation and concentrations derived from using Izon’s nano-tech tools.”
Chris Dineen and Guy Bolton join the board as representatives of Bolton Equities, founded by New Zealand businessman and
entrepreneur Murray Bolton, which has invested $10.5M growth capital in Izon to help the business reach its potential.
Both Bolton and Dineen sit on Bolton Equities’ investment committee and on several other investee entity boards.
Guy Bolton, Bolton Equities’ Director and President North America, brings over 25 years’ experience in business
specifically in drug development, project management and technology. Bolton has held various leadership positions at
established businesses including Pharmaceutical companies with senior management and director experience across drug
development, project/study management, and operations. He served on the board of Transaction Services Group for 4 years
and currently works on various health care technologies, which has resulted in significant exposure to business
governance and trends.
Chris Dineen, CEO of Bolton Equities, is experienced in M, corporate finance / advisory, and execution of large-scale project finance transactions. Prior to joining Bolton
Equities in November 2019, Dineen spent 10 years at Westpac New Zealand Limited where he worked in a small-team focussed
on important institutional projects and transactions.
Dineen says, “Izon captured our interest as it’s developing technology that science really needs. We were impressed with
its product suite’s capabilities, recent growth rates, and the management team’s approach to developing the technology
in a very pragmatic way. We also saw that we could bring significant value to the business alongside our capital,
leveraging Bolton Equities’ strengths in finance, tech and healthcare across key markets.”
Izon serves blue chip research customers in over 50 countries including all of the top 10 medical research companies, 9
of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies and 49 of the top 50 US universities. A particular area of interest is in
extra-cellular vesicles, including exosomes, with the expectation that these will become powerful biomarkers and
significantly improve healthcare globally.