Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc (LON:ONT), the company delivering a new generation of molecular sensing technology based on nanopores, has announced the appointment of Francis Van Parys as Chief Executive Officer. Francis will join the Company and the Board as an Executive Director on 2 March 2026.
Francis brings more than 20 years of experience leading multi-billion-dollar life science businesses, with a strong track record of scaling innovation-driven organisations through commercial and operational excellence. He is currently President and CEO of Radiometer, a global leader in acute care diagnostics and part of Danaher Corporation. Previously, Francis held senior leadership roles at Cytiva and GE Healthcare, driving sustained growth and building high-performing teams across Europe, Asia, and North America.
Francis Van Parys will succeed Gordon Sanghera, who has led Oxford Nanopore since its inception in 2005. Gordon will step down from the Board at close of business on 2 March 2026 and will remain as an employee of the Company in an advisory capacity through to early 2027 to ensure a smooth handover.
Duncan Tatton-Brown, Chair of Oxford Nanopore, remarked: “We are delighted to welcome Francis Van Parys as the next CEO. We believe his global life sciences leadership and deep regulatory expertise, combined with a proven ability to scale innovation-driven businesses make him a strong fit for the next phase of growth. His appointment follows a comprehensive succession process, led by the Nomination Committee with an independent search firm. The Board looks forward to working with Francis as he builds on strong foundations of innovation to lead the Company into its next chapter of growth and impact.
“I would like to reiterate my thanks to Gordon for his leadership, vision and unwavering commitment to building Oxford Nanopore over the last 20 years.”
Francis Van Parys commented: “I’m excited to join Oxford Nanopore at such an important stage in its development. The Company is delivering strong growth, underpinned by its differentiated sensing platform and expanding global customer base. With a substantial market opportunity ahead, I look forward to building on this strong foundation, driving innovation that shapes trends in global genomics and enhancing operational execution across the business to deliver value for the Company and for all our stakeholders.”
Gordon Sanghera, CEO of Oxford Nanopore, added: “Leading Oxford Nanopore for more than two decades has been an extraordinary privilege. From an idea that single-molecule sensing could be done differently, we’ve built a company that created a new category of multi-omic analysis. I’m confident Francis will build on the strong foundations of innovation and growth to lead Oxford Nanopore to even greater success.”
