Dynavax Appoints Christine Larson as Chief Financial Officer
- August 13, 2012
BERKELEY, CA--(Marketwire -08/13/12)- Dynavax Technologies Corporation (DVAX) today announced the appointment of Christine Larson to the position of Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, a newly created position. Ms. Larson brings nearly 25 years of experience as a financial professional to the role, including a background in corporate finance and investment banking. Ms. Larson joins Dynavax from PDL Biopharma, Inc. (PDL), where she was responsible for leading financial and strategic planning, accounting, and treasury and investor relations for the public company, which earned annual revenues of $350 million. During her tenure at PDL, Ms. Larson designed and implemented a complex recapitalization strategy, including debt issuance and restructuring, as well as led the development of new accounting infrastructure following the company's spin-out of biotechnology assets to Facet Biotech Corporation in 2008.
"Cris' background and experience will be a valuable addition to our senior management team as we advance Dynavax toward commercial operations," said Chief Executive Officer, Dino Dina, M.D. "We look forward to her contributions in the planning and implementation of a successful strategy for the growth of the Company."
Prior to PDL, Ms. Larson served as a Director at Grant Thornton, LLP in their Transactions Advisory group from 2007 to 2008. Previously from 2003 to 2005, Ms. Larson was Chief Financial Officer for Trinity Learning Corporation, a publicly held, technology-enabled learning company. From 1985 to 1999, Ms. Larson was with Bank of America Corporation, most recently as a senior vice president and managing director and was responsible for business development in their Global Capital Markets group. In this role, she established Bank of America's equity derivatives business and structured a strategic alliance with a major New York-based investment firm involving a $1 billion plus recapitalization of the firm. Ms. Larson received a B.S. in Food and Nutritional Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from California State University, East Bay. Ms. Larson is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California.