C. Randal Mills, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer – The National Marrow Donor Program / Be The Match; Executive Director – Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR)
With more than 20 years of experience as a leader of biotechnology, Dr. Mills has shown how innovation coupled with rigorous execution can alter the course of disease and prevent human suffering. As CEO of NMDP/Be The Match, Dr. Mills leads an organization of over 1,200 professionals and 3,000 volunteers, fighting so all people, irrespective of background get the cell therapy they need.
Before joining NMDP/Be The Match, Dr. Mills served as CEO of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state’s $3 billion agency charged with accelerating more than 300 stem cell programs for patients in need. Under his leadership, CIRM 2.0 was launched, creating an organization internationally recognized for its speed, innovation and productivity. As CEO of Osiris® Therapeutics, Dr. Mills led the company through its IPO and launched several first-in-class cell therapy products, including remestemcel-L—the first stem cell drug used for the treatment of children with deadly graft-versus-host disease. Dr. Mills was also a co-founder of Regeneration Technologies, Inc., where he invented BioCleanse®, the first sterilization system for human tissue transplantation accepted by the FDA. To date, this technology has safeguarded more than four million transplantations without a single case of disease transmission.
Dr. Mills was named to the World Regenerative Medicine Congress list of the World’s 50 Most Influential People in Regenerative Medicine and named “Emerging Pharmaceutical Leader” by Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine. He is the recipient of the George W. Hyatt Memorial Award for outstanding scientific contribution to the field of transplant and his BioCleanse technology won the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer award.
Dr. Mills serves on numerous boards including as past chairman of KeraLink International, a pioneer in the restoration of sight through corneal transplantation. He received his bachelor’s degree in cell science and holds a doctorate in drug discovery and development from the University of Florida. He is married with two children and is a licensed pilot.