FAIRFIELD, Ohio, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of
Directors of DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC, or the Company), one of
the world's largest providers of private DNA testing services, has
named Connie Hallquist as President
and Chief Executive Officer of the Company effective
immediately.
Hallquist is a veteran CEO and entrepreneur. Prior to joining
DDC, Hallquist served as President of Healthy Directions, a
business unit of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ: HELE). She joined
Healthy Directions, LLC in 2010 as Executive Vice President,
Merchandising and New Product Development, and became CEO in 2012.
Earlier, Hallquist served as President, New Business Ventures, for
the $1 billion catalog holding
company Orchard Brands. In 2007, Orchard Brands acquired Gold
Violin, a multi-channel retailer offering helpful products for
independent living, which Hallquist founded in 2000. Prior to Gold
Violin, Hallquist served as Managing Director at Prophet, a brand
strategy consulting firm, where she oversaw flagship clients
including Audi, Levi Strauss & Co., Williams-Sonoma and UBS.
Early in her career, Hallquist worked in brand management at Kraft
Foods. She holds a BA in French Language & Literature from the
University of Virginia and an MBA
degree from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the
University of Virginia.
Connie Hallquist, President
and CEO of DNA Diagnostics Center, commented: "I am thrilled to
be joining DNA Diagnostics Center. The company is a market leader
in the DNA testing industry, which is an exciting category with
tremendous growth potential. I look forward to working with DDC's
scientists and business leaders, as well as our new investors, to
leverage my experience in building brands to grow DDC as a
consumer-driven DNA testing company."
Mike Mortimer, Partner at GHO
Capital, said: "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would
like to thank Peter Vitulli for his
significant leadership as CEO over the past five years in
delivering strong growth and identifying new market segments for
DDC. We welcome Connie to the team and very much look forward to
her influence and perspective as we continue to support the company
through its next phase of growth."
About DDC
DDC is one of the largest DNA testing companies in the world.
Founded 20 years ago, and with offices in Fairfield (Ohio) and London (United
Kingdom), DDC offers comprehensive DNA testing for paternity
and family relationships, forensics, genetic traits of animals,
cell line authentication, and ancestry. DDC's Dual Process™ ensures
all collected DNA samples are independently tested twice producing
legal results of unmatched quality and reliability. DDC is
recognized through a number of accreditations nationally and
internationally including those performed by the American
Association of Blood Banks (AABB), The Ministry of Justice, and the
College of American Pathologists (CAP). DDC is also accredited by
ACLASS to meet the standards of ISO 17025 and the American Society
of Crime Laboratory Directors / Laboratory Accreditation
Board-International and follows the DNA Advisory Board (DAB)
guidelines, which attests to DDC's superior forensic testing
service. For more information, please visit www.dnacenter.com.
In 2015, DDC was acquired by specialist healthcare investor GHO
Capital who will support the future development of the company.
About GHO Capital
Global Healthcare Opportunities, or GHO Capital Partners LLP,
was founded in 2014 as a specialist healthcare investment adviser
based in London. Its vision is to
apply global capabilities and perspectives to build a world-class
healthcare specialist private equity firm by recognizing and
seizing the highly attractive and under-penetrated European market
opportunity. GHO Capital has a powerful combination of transaction,
investment and industry skills which sets it apart from traditional
private equity firms. For further information, please visit
www.ghocapital.com.
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SOURCE DNA Diagnostics Center