Ontera Expands Executive Leadership Team as the Nanopore Diagnostics Company Advances Towards Product Commercialization

SANTA CRUZ, CA - Oct 9, 2019 - Ontera, the leader in silicon-based nanopore diagnostics, today announced the appointments of Mark Rose as vice president of product management and Raparti Swayambhu as vice president of software. These two new members of the Ontera leadership team will play critical roles in preparing the company for commercialization of its first device in 2021. 

As vice president of product management, Mark Rose  will be responsible for the development, launch and commercial activities of Ontera’s diagnostic product portfolio. Under his leadership, Ontera will introduce its first product, which will leverage Ontera’s novel sample-to-answer platform for initial applications in agriculture. 

Rose brings extensive experience in building large-scale, premium hardware and software products. Most recently, Rose was product lead at Google, where he launched the company’s popular Nest brand products. He previously worked at Motorola, where he was responsible for the contextual and sensory user experiences on the award-winning Moto X line of products, and was the founder of Spare Change Payments, the first and largest micropayment solution on Facebook. Roseholds an MBA from the Sid Craig School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of California, Davis. 

Raparti Swayambhu  will serve as vice president of software, overseeing the company’s software development, enterprise IT and data science teams to develop and deliver high-traffic, large-scale technology platforms for data-driven diagnostics. 

Swayambhu brings to Ontera more than two decades of software development experience to Ontera, including 12 years in the healthcare industry. He has built platforms that leverage a variety of techniques, including native cloud, edge computing, IoT and AI/ML, to collect and organize information from EMRs, patient portals, and lab work flows. He has overseen products in all stages of the development continuum, from early R&D through commercialization. Swayambhu has held several software technical lead and senior engineering leadership roles at Sema4, Equinix, eProcrates, Cryptography, and Genentech.He holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.

“With the addition of these seasoned technology executives to the Ontera team, we are well poised to deliver easy-to-use and precise point-of-care molecular diagnostics -- delivering  on our mission of democratizing molecular information where and when needed,” said Murielle Thinard-McLane, chief executive officer, Ontera. “With the commercialization of our first device anticipated in 2021, both Mark and Raparti’s experience and passion for introducing first-of-their-kind technologies to market will be a tremendous asset.”

About Ontera

Ontera was founded with the idea that better information is needed to enhance human and environmental health in a sustainable way. The company aims to revolutionize diagnostics with its single-molecule detection and genome analysis platforms based on proprietary biochemistry and silicon nanopore chip-based sensors. These platforms will bring next-generation molecular diagnostics closer to the point of need, anywhere on earth. For more information, visit www.ontera.bio.