FINANCE MONTHLY CEO AWARDS 2014 Winner...

SHUQI CHEN, PH.D. USA

CEO of IQuum ABOUT SHUQI CHEN, PH.D.

Shuqi Chen, Ph.D., was President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of IQuum, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company that created and commercialized the revolutionary lab-in-a-tube platform for lab-quality point-of- care molecular diagnostics. He founded IQuum in 1998, based on his vision and innovative approach that enables minimally- trained users to perform sophisticated biological sample testing with greater speed in any setting. At IQuum, he aligned

private investors to his vision and won their continued support for over 15 years, through several economic cycles. He built an interdisciplinary team committed to both scientific excellence and business innovation, and led the team to bring to market innovative medical diagnostic products that are reshaping healthcare decision-making. In 2014, he led the IQuum Board of Directors and management to successfully close the acquisition of IQuum by Roche

What are the key challenges for a CEO?

The key challenges for a CEO are understanding the market needs, market trends and key player landscape; developing the right strategies to create business value; and aligning investors and employees to execute the plan.

To define the direction of the business, a CEO must be a visionary, with foresight into market trends within and cross the industries. He or she must also have a keen understanding of the competitors and analyze their strength and weaknesses. Built on this vision and analysis, a CEO

needs to define the goals of the business and propose them to the Board.

With the direction approved by the Board, a CEO must develop the right strategies to realize the vision and create value for the business. For a technology-based company, the ability to assess the maturity of a technology is key, so that the feasibility of a product and its development timeframe can be well understood. The strategy also needs to consider the skill sets needed to execute against it. To meet the needs of a fast paced

market within the finite resources of any company, a CEO should carefully define what expertise to build in-house and what skill sets to leverage from other key players. The key is to build on what is core to the business and what the business can do well, while utilizing external resources for everything else. Only then can a company move quickly to execute the strategy successfully and lead the market.

Finally, a CEO must be a leader, capable of aligning stockholders and employees over the long term.

This is particularly challenging in industries such as pharmaceuticals or medical devices where development cycles are especially long. A CEO must articulate a clear and detailed plan to realize the vision, and build a team that has the capability to execute it. This will earn the confidence of the shareholders and the employees, and align the company to focus on executing the plan. Yet, the best of plans meets challenges and when these challenges come, the CEO must have the judgment to choose the right path and adjust the plan as needed in a timely manner.

Molecular System for up to USD 450 million.

Prior to IQuum, Dr. Chen was a Harvard faculty member. He has a Ph.D. in Medicine, an M.S. in Biophysics and a B.S. in Theoretical Physics. He has received many national awards in China in recognition of his accomplishments. Among them are the National Outstanding Achievement for Technology Development, 1988; the Advanced Science and Technology Prize,

1986; and the National Great Achievement in Science and Technology, 1984. Dr. Chen has expertise in a wide assortment of disciplines, as well as management experience in both industry and academia. He has a proven record of overcoming technology and business challenges; building a sound business strategy based on thorough analysis of the industrial trends and key player landscape; and realizing value for investor, employees and, most importantly, for global healthcare.

NORTH AMERICA

Shuqi Chen, PH.D. - CEO of IQuum Email: shuqi.chen@earthlink.net l Website: www.iquum.com FINANCEMONTHLY 63