1. Build clusters of excellence. Single companies have a tough time in isolation! 2. Provide meaningful ownership incentives to all employees. Share the big picture with every employee, often. Establish, communicate frequently and live a concise, coherent set of Corporate Values—“walk the talk.” 3. Embrace change as a constant. Know how to evolve your company … Continue reading “Five Ideas for Building the Innovation Economy in Michigan”
Author: William Rastetter
William H. Rastetter is CEO, Executive Chairman of the Board and co-Founder of San Diego-based Receptos. Dr. Rastetter has also served as Partner at Venrock, a premier venture capital firm, since 2006. Prior to Receptos and Venrock, Dr. Rastetter was Executive Chairman of Biogen Idec, from the merger of the two companies in 2003 through the end of 2005. He joined Idec Pharmaceuticals at its founding in 1986 and grew it to a multi-billion-dollar market valuation company, while serving as Chairman and CEO. Prior to Idec, he was Director of Corporate Ventures at Genentech and served as well in a scientific capacity at Genentech. Dr. Rastetter also serves as the Chairman of Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]). Adding to his corporate background, Bill held various faculty positions at MIT, won the award for "Excellence in the Teaching of Chemistry" at Harvard and is an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. Dr. Rastetter is the author of numerous scientific papers and patent applications in the fields of organic and bio-organic chemistry, protein and enzyme engineering, and biotechnology. Dr. Rastetter holds a S.B. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University.