Genentech Vice President Retiring

Genentech Vice President Retiring
By Shelly Meron/Business Writer

Frank Jackson, vice president of Genentech's Vacaville product operations, will retire next month, a company spokeswoman said. He has been working for Genentech for 26 years, 13 of those at the Vacaville facility.

Jackson's retirement is effective July 9. He will be staying with Genentech for the next several weeks to help with the transition and to assist with various projects. Jackson was not available for comment Thursday.

Vacaville Mayor Len Augustine said Jackson had been "very community minded" and worked with city officials to attract new businesses to the area.

"I'm personally going to miss him and I know the city will as well," Augustine said.

Mike Ammann, president of the Solano Economic Development Corporation, said his organization had benefited from Jackson's involvement through the years.

"He's always been concerned about the organization," Ammann said. "He wasn't afraid to speak up. You knew Frank was in the room and that was always good."

Mike Palombo, Vacaville's economic development manager, said Jackson had been "a great help in lots of ways" to the city, and described him as "a very effective leader."

Jackson was named vice president of Vacaville product operations in 2001, and was responsible for overseeing manufacturing, facilities services, production services and technology. He first joined Genentech in 1981 as manager of fermentation operations and technical services.

Colleen Wilson, director of community and patient programs at Genentech, said in an e-mail message Thursday that Jackson would be replaced by Charles Calderaro, who is currently the vice president of corporate engineering at Genentech's South San Francisco facility. Calderaro joined Genentech in 2002 and previously worked for Aventis Behring, Alcon Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon division.

Shelly Meron can be reached at business@thereporter.com.