Ruth Cheng, PhD
President and CEO | Member, Board of Directors (ex-officio)
“I am inspired by what lies ahead in the next hundred years. ATCC is well-positioned to enable the future of life sciences. Bringing credibility and real-world value to scientific exploration, our work ultimately translates into better lives for countless people – an endless source of inspiration.”
Dr. Cheng is a visionary leader and experienced global executive leader with decades of experience in life sciences innovation and business strategy, with a strong scientific foundation in biology and biomedical engineering.
Dr. Cheng’s leadership at ATCC is driven by her commitment to enabling scientific discovery at a rapid pace through the application of digital and physical biological content. Prior to her appointment as CEO, Ruth was senior vice president and general manager, Research & Industrial Solutions, leading strategic partnerships, product development, sales and marketing, and external innovation efforts. She also led ATCC’s R&D and BioNexus scientific teams. Her leadership positioned the company into areas important to ATCC’s future including bioinformatics and biological reference data. Additionally, Ruth expanded the number and diversity of its scientific strategic partnerships and has contributed to the continuous transformation of our culture and strategy.
Experience
Before joining ATCC, she served as vice president of Global Strategy at AgNovos Healthcare, leading multiple departments to expand the company’s portfolio and market access. At Smith+Nephew, she was director of Strategy and Innovation for the Advanced Surgical Devices Division, overseeing strategic planning for this multi-billion dollar division and was responsible for driving growth through product development and corporate venturing. Earlier, she held leadership roles at Boston Scientific, including manager of Corporate Research and Research Fellow.
Ruth received her bachelor’s in biological sciences from Cornell University and her master’s and doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan. She holds executive certificates in Strategy & Innovation from MIT Sloan and Private Equity & Venture Capital from Harvard Business School. She has authored numerous scientific publications and more than a dozen patents. She also is an invited lecturer at congresses and universities on medical technology innovation.
