BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ, July 26, 2001
- Genta Incorporated (Nasdaq: GNTA) announced the appointment of
Alfred J. Fernandez as Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial
Officer. Mr. Fernandez will immediately assume responsibility for
the Companys financial and information technology functions and
will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer. As CFO, Mr.
Fernandez replaces Mr. Gerald Schimmoeller who is leaving the
Company for personal reasons.
Mr. Fernandez brings more than 25 years of financial experience
to Genta. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President and CFO of
MetroCom, Inc., a telecommunications company. From 1989-1998, he
served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NABI
(Nasdaq: NABI), a global biopharmaceutical company. During his
tenure, NABI achieved compound annual sales growth of 25% over 10
years. While at NABI, Mr. Fernandez revamped that companys capital
structure through substantial public offerings of equity and
convertible debt securities, structured and assimilated a $127
million merger with Univax Biologics, Inc., and negotiated
favorable revolving lines of bank credit and construction
financings for headquarters and manufacturing facilities.
Previously, Mr. Fernandez held positions as Executive Vice
President and CFO at Chatahoochee Financial Corporation, a
multi-bank holding company, and as Senior Manager at Price
Waterhouse.
"The addition of Al Fernandez to the Genta management team is an
important step as we look forward to product commercialization,"
noted Dr. Raymond P. Warrell, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Genta
Incorporated. "Genta is an emerging leader in biopharmaceuticals,
and Al brings many years of financial, strategic, and operating
experience in this sector that will prove extremely valuable as we
execute our planned transition to profitable operations." Mr.
Fernandez added: "I am delighted to join Gentas world-class
management team and look forward to launching our leading-edge
product portfolio". Dr. Warrell also commented: "On a personal
note, I want to express our deep gratitude to Jerry Schimmoeller,
who had earlier indicated his wish to step down. Jerry has been
very helpful in the search for his successor, and I am pleased that
he will continue to assist the Company in effecting a smooth
transition." The search was conducted for Genta by Korn Ferry
International.
