Management Team
Peter Pieraccini
President & CEO
peter@zen-bio.com
As President of Zen-Bio, Peter continues a well-established career in business development, management, and revitalization. Over the last two decades, he has served as the founder or co-founder and chief executive of multiple companies covering a diverse array of industries. He has also engaged teams of investors in identifying and acquiring businesses and making them profitable. These experiences have enabled Peter to develop a firm background in organizational and financial management, as well as contract and partnership negotiation. His knowledge and skills in these areas have already enriched Zen-Bio. Peter has charted a secure course for Zen-Bio's continued prosperity, overseeing strategic initiatives that have led to continued growth in sales and research. Some of Peter's accomplishments since joining Zen-Bio include the filing of 13 patents, the creation of strategic partnerships, and the creation of marketing and logistical procedures that have driven sales. Peter received his B.S. in accounting from Christian Brothers University in 1985.
Richard Giersch
Chief Operations Officer
richard@zen-bio.com
Richard's background is varied covering the fields of venture capital, market research and analysis, and management consulting. He held the position of Director of Information at Fusion Ventures, and then went on to start a consulting company focusing on competitive intelligence and business planning services. Richard provided consulting services to Zen-Bio for a year prior to joining them full time in April 2002. He has guest-lectured at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School and is completing his MSLS at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Benjamin Buehrer, Ph.D.
Vice President
ben@zen-bio.com
Ben has over 10 years of industrial experience leading discovery and research programs. From 2004 to 2007, he was Zen-Bio’s Director of R&D, managing the internal, contract, and collaborative research and development programs. Prior to that, Ben led small molecule drug discovery and pre-clinical development for Karo Bio’s prostate cancer program, managing research at both the US and Swedish sites. Most recently, Ben led internal discovery programs at Affinergy, Inc. focused on site-specific delivery and retention of bioactive agents to medical device and tissue surfaces. Ben received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Duke University in 1994.
Jim Nicoll
Director of Contract Research and Development
jim@zen-bio.com
Jim graduated from the College of William and Mary with a Master's in Biology working in the laboratory of Dr. Lizabeth Allison. Jim joined Zen-Bio in December of 2005 and immediately became involved with our contract services, performing assays for our customers. In addition to contract services Jim has been involved in the research and development of several new cell systems and products, including skeletal muscle and dermal fibroblasts. In his current role he assists customers in designing experiments for use in our in our contract assays. He also continues to develop new products for our customers.
Renee Lea-Currie, Ph.D.
Director of Cell Biology
renee@zen-bio.com
Renee graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) with a Ph.D. in Nutrition in 1999 where she worked in the lab under Dr. Michael McIntosh. Her dissertation in, "Dehydroepiandrosterone metabolism and its role in adipocyte growth and development" attracted the attention of scientists at Zen-Bio. In September of 1999, Renee took a post-doctoral position with the company investigating both the development of anti-diabetic drugs with reduced weight gain side effects and the impact of novel compounds on human adipocyte development. In November of 2000 Renee was hired as a permanent employee and took on the dual roles of business manager and senior scientist. Renee is an integral component of both the daily operations of the lab and its research program. She played a critical role in the development and strengthening of Zen-Bio's quality control initiative. She is the lead contact for technical advice and customer service at Zen-Bio.
She is a member of The Endocrine Society, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and The American Society of Nutritional Sciences (ASNS).
