Andrew J. Conrad is an American

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

who was a co-founder at

Verily Verily Life Sciences LLC, also known as Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences), is Alphabet Inc.'s research organization devoted to the study of life sciences. The organization was formerly a division of Google X, until August 10, 2015, when Ser ...

, a life sciences division of

Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Alphabet is the world's third-largest technology company by revenue, after Amazon and Apple, the largest techno ...

As its chief executive officer, Conrad has recruited a multidisciplinary team of chemists, doctors, engineers, behavioral scientists and data scientists to research health and disease.

Early life

Conrad grew up in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

and enjoyed

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

there.

Education

Conrad graduated with a B.S. in

neurobiology Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

and a Ph.D. in

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA) in the late 1980s.

Career

In 1991, Conrad co-founded the National Genetics Institute (NGI) along with Mike Aicher. He served as its chief scientist and helped grow it into one of the largest genetics laboratories in the world. With the money earned from the sale of NGI, Conrad built a vacation home on the

Lānaʻi Lānai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The island's o ...

island of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. At an art auction in Lānaʻi, Conrad met David H. Murdock, chairman and owner of

Dole Food Company Dole plc (previously named Dole Food Company and Standard Fruit Company) is an Irish- American agricultural multinational corporation headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company is among the world's largest producers of fruit and vegetables ...

, and also owner of Lānaʻi island. Murdock came to trust Conrad and eventually gave him board membership on companies he controlled: Castle & Cooke, Dole Food Company and NovaRx. Conrad invested his money with Murdock and his son, Justin. In 2005, Conrad helped set up the

North Carolina Research Campus The North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) is a public-private research center in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Kannapolis, North Carolina, United States. The Campus was envisioned by David H. Murdock, owner of Dole Food Company and Castle and Cook ...

(NCRC), a life sciences research center in

Kannapolis, North Carolina Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, Cabarrus and Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan Counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord, North Carolina, Concord and northeast of Charlotte, North Carolina, ...

. Murdock donated $700 million to NCRC as its founder. As its chief scientific advisor, Conrad attracted prominent scientists and companies to NCRC to develop products focused on agriculture, food, nutrition, and health. In November 2006, Conrad founded the California Health and Longevity Institute inside the Four Seasons

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California, on its western border with Ventura County. Upon its incorporation in 1981, Westlake Village became the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks We ...

in partnership with Murdock and Wellpoint. In March 2013, Conrad joined the life sciences unit of

Google X X Development LLC, doing business as X (formerly Google X), is an American semi-secret research and development facility and organization founded by Google in January 2010. X has its headquarters about a mile and a half from Google's corporate ...

after 22 years at NGI. In June 2013, Murdock started the process to take the Dole Food Company private and appointed Conrad at the head of a four-person special committee of independent directors to approve a deal. Murdock initially offered $12 a share in cash, a price that the committee found too low. Murdock ultimately closed the deal at $13.50 but shareholders sued anyway. In 2015 they were awarded $148 million in damages while Conrad was found to have acted with integrity, and was not held liable. In August 2015, the life sciences unit of Google X was spun out as its own company under the Alphabet Inc. with Conrad as its CEO. In December 2015, the company changed its name from Google Life Sciences to

. In January 2023, Stephen Gillett became the new CEO of

, while Conrad shifted roles to become the executive chairman amid a corporate restructuring. In February 2024, Conrad joined S32, a venture capital firm founded by Bill Maris, as a General Partner. Conrad, a notable figure in the fields of technology and data science, previously held senior roles at various

divisions, including Verily Life Sciences, Google Ventures, and

. His extensive experience in technology and computational biology complements S32's focus on investing in the frontiers of technology.

Awards

Conrad was named one of the ''Top 25 Most Influential People in Biopharma 2015'' by FierceBiotech.

Publications

Conrad has more than eighty-five publications in scientific and medical journals.

Personal life

Conrad is an avid surfer and has a casual dressing style. He is married to Haylynn Cohen, a model, with whom he has two children.

References

External links

* Andrew Conrad speaks at th
WSJD Live conference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad, Andrew Living people 1964 births Scientists from Los Angeles University of California, Los Angeles alumni American geneticists Google people Alphabet Inc. people American technology chief executives People from Malibu, California