Virent Strengthens Federal Advocacy Efforts
David Hitchcock Joins Virent as VP of Government Affairs
Madison, Wisconsin – September 13, 2011 – Virent today announced the appointment of David Hitchcock as the company’s first vice president of government affairs. Hitchcock will be based in Washington, D.C. to lead the company’s legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts to support commercialization of its bio-based fuels and chemical technologies.
“I am delighted to have David Hitchcock joining the Virent team. David’s deep and relevant experience, along with his Washington presence, extends Virent’s efforts to support policies that enable innovation, leverage existing infrastructure, and reward performance,” said Lee Edwards, CEO of Virent. “We are committed to providing commercially-viable, large scale deployments in the United States for drop-in fuels and chemicals. Our facilities will reduce dependence on imported crude oil, increase domestic jobs, and increase sustainability. David is joining at a key time for many important policy decisions.”
“I look forward to leveraging my experience within the Department of Defense and start-up work in the auto industry to help Virent in Washington. This company offers unique solutions to our current dependency on crude oil for transportation fuel and chemicals. That’s something I am very excited to be a part of,” said Hitchcock.
Hitchcock joins Virent from Next Autoworks, where he served as vice president of operations and led the company’s governmental affairs efforts at the federal, state, and local levels. In this capacity, he supervised operational planning for their first manufacturing facility, obtaining over $150 million in grants and tax incentives from local communities, work force development funding and other in-kind incentives. He was also responsible for public relations and human resource management functions.
In 2008, Hitchcock retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel after 20 years of service in the United States Marine Corps. An F/A-18 Hornet pilot and combat veteran, his career spanned multiple disciplines including operations, aircraft maintenance, training, strategic planning, and logistics. He concluded his military career as with command of the largest flying squadron in the Marine Corps. Hitchcock is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and the Naval War College.
David joins 115 other employees on the Virent team who came to the company from leading energy, agribusiness, chemical companies, start-ups and research institutes.
About Virent
Virent is based in Madison, Wisconsin and holds patented technology that uses catalytic chemistry to convert plant-based sugars into a full range of products identical to those made from petroleum, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and chemicals for plastics and fibers. The development of Virent’s BioForming® technology platform is supported through strategic investors including Cargill, Honda, and Shell. The company has received several grants from the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Energy and Agriculture. Virent’s BioForming technology also has received World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. To learn more about Virent, go to www.Virent.com.
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Contact
Kelly Morgan
Marketing Manager, Virent
Kelly_morgan@virent.com
608-237-8603