Key management and advisory personnel include a former CEO of a major electron microscope manufacturer, the director of a university genome center, and successful entrepreneurs.

ZS Genetics management is focused on understanding evolving market needs, prioritizing technology development, and maintaining intellectual property.

Management Team

William R. Glover III
Chairman, President, Vice President of Research and Development

Thomas D. Abert
Vice President of Finance and Administration


Richard W. Smith
Director of Research and Development



ZSG management is also guided by an extensive network of advisors. These advisors have provided substantial improvement to the business model, market entry tactics and financial strategies.

Board of Directors

William R. Glover, III – Chairman

Thomas D. Abert – Secretary, Treasurer

Frank E. Ferguson

Jane E. Hager

Vahé A. Sarkissian

Scientific Advisory Board

David C. Bell, PhD, FRMS

Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD

Harold Swerdlow, PhD

W. Kelley Thomas, PhD



Management Team


William R. Glover III

The founder of ZS Genetics, Mr. Glover combines scientific vision, an engineer’s training, and a solid background in risk-aversion project management, economics and recruiting. Before inventing the technology behind ZS Genetics, he worked as an energy industry economist, an energy industry management consultant, and a small business strategy consultant, running the US Middle Market Strategy Practice for Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Earlier, he worked for Bechtel Corp., designing radiation safety systems for commercial nuclear power plants. Mr. Glover holds a BS in chemical engineering from CSU-Long Beach and an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.

Thomas D. Abert
ZS Genetic’s first investor, Mr. Abert offers a rich background in technology management, helping engineers move innovative technologies into commercial markets, and experience working with start-ups and finance. Highlights include helping launch and grow Hifi.com, a start-up venture for Cambridge SoundWorks, and helping PC Connection launch and manage their online business and service center. Early technology management experience was at AT&T, including Bell Labs, where he helped develop global multimedia networks and applications. His career began in finance, in both corporate finance and trading. Mr. Abert holds an AS in computer science and a BA in music theory from Keene State College, and an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.

Richard W. Smith
Mr. Smith manages the various R&D projects, including budgets, technical progress and the West Coast vendor relationships, especially semiconductor chip designers and fabricators. From 1997 through 2004, Rich held various management positions within Intel Corporation, most recently in Intel Capital where he was involved in the incubation of several successful businesses. Prior to Intel, Mr. Smith held positions with Cummins Engine Company and General Electric and served in various Officer roles with the United States Army. He also serves as a Director of Raining Data Corporation (Ticker: RDTA). Mr. Smith holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy and an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.

Board of Directors

Vahé A. Sarkissian
Former Chairman, President and CEO of FEI Co., the world's leader in electron microscope technology. Prior to that he was senior executive with a number of semiconductor and capital equipment companies, including president and CEO of two other publicly-traded technology companies, Metrologix Inc., and SVG Lithography Systems, the latter a subsidiary of Silicon Valley Group of which he also became president and COO. Previously he served as vice president of Data General Corp. responsible for the semiconductor and telecommunication products divisions, where he led a major telecommunications venture with Nippon Telephone and Telegraph. Prior to Data General Vahé was a senior executive at Advanced Micro Devices.

Frank E. Ferguson
President of Curriculum Associates, Inc. (www.CAInc.com). Mr. Ferguson is an active investor and member of the board or advisor for several other companies, including: EdTech Networks, Way Systems, Net Clarity, and DigitalBrix. He has been president of several corporations, including Bose Corporation for seven years, and Curriculum Associates, of which he is a founder and it's President.

Jane E. Hager
Founder, CEO, President of Prescott Investment Corp., President of Pinnacle Mountain Partners; Managing Member, Angelfish Investments and Gulf Coast Investment Partners. Ms. Hager has extensive experience in the founding and management of public life sciences companies, including: IGI, Novavax, and National Medical Care. She also has extensive banking industry experience, including: founding director for Centrix Bank and Trust (where she is head of the Audit Committee), and director for Fleet Bank – New Hampshire.

Scientific Advisory Board

David C. Bell, PhD, FRMS
Dr. Bell, is Lecturer in Applied Physics at the School of Engineering and
Applied Sciences at Harvard University. He also manages the imaging and
analysis facility at the Center for Nanoscale Systems which is part of the
Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard. His current research interests
include; nanocomposites and nanowire materials. Investigating new mechanisms
for materials imaging and analysis with charged particle beams, electron
aberration determination, correction and the measurements and the
application with analytical microscopy methods for advanced and adaptive
correlative microscopy. He is widely published in journals and books and
holds several patents. Dr. Bell did his postdoctoral studies at MIT, and
received his Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is a
member of the Microscopy Society of America and Fellow of the Royal
Microscopical Society, U.K.

Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD
Dr. Holick is a renowned endocrinologist and professor of medicine, biophysics and physiology at Boston University School of Medicine. He has extensively researched the sources and effects of Vitamin D on the body. In addition to his many Academic and Hospital appointments, Dr. Holick also has an extensive background with life sciences companies, including: A&D Bioscience, Strakan USA, IGI, Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, and Bridge to Life. He is the inventor of 42 approved or pending patents, holds numerous other awards, and has an extensive number of publications.

More information is available on Dr. Holick at www.UVAdvantage.org.

Harold Swerdlow, PhD
Dr. Swerdlow is the Head of Sequencing Technology at the Wellcome Trust
Sanger Institute (Sanger Centre). In this capacity, he is responsible for
next-generation DNA sequencing instrumentation - technology assessment,
acquisition and development. He also manages one of the largest DNA
sequencing production facilities in the world, currently generating more
than 500 billion bases of DNA sequence per week. Previously, he was the
Chief Technology Officer at Dolomite Ltd., a DTI-funded microfabrication and
microfluidics business, performing R&D project management and business
development. Before Dolomite, he was the Senior Director of Research at
Solexa Ltd. (now Illumina, Inc.), responsible for developing the technology
that is now the most widely used for next-generation DNA sequencing. Before
Solexa, he spent many years in academic research, managing various
technology development projects. He has a long-standing interest in using
miniaturization and microfluidic technology to solve problems in molecular
biology and genome science.

W. Kelley Thomas, PhD
Dr. Thomas is the Hubbard Professor in Genomics and Director of the Hubbard Center for Genome Studies, University of New Hampshire. Dr. Thomas has a long academic career in genomics at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, and University of California – Berkeley, in addition to the University of New Hampshire. He has over 40 publications.

More information on Dr. Thomas is available at hcgs.unh.edu/staff/