BIO Alabama has named Jeremy D. Blanks as its new CEO.

Blanks is a native of Albertville and attended the University of Alabama (UA) for his bachelor’s degree in chemistry/mathematics and his Ph.D. in chemistry.

After graduating from UA in 1995, Blanks joined DuPont for a career that lasted more than two decades with leadership roles in research and development, manufacturing technology, operations and supply chain. Blanks then joined a series of private equity firm-owned companies in executive roles and also spent time with Huntsman Chemical. Most recently, he was the chief operations officer for Sigura, owned by Platinum Equity.

“I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to move back to Alabama in late 2020 and now be presented with this role to advocate for life sciences in the state,” Blanks said. “As an Alabama native and scientist by training, it is personally important to me that we grow this area to bring in more and better bioscience jobs as well as improve economic investment in our beautiful state to ensure a prosperous future.”

Blanks and his wife, Jian Sun-Blanks, live in Arab.

BIO Alabama is the lead advocate for growth in the biosciences and health care related industries throughout Alabama. The organization represents the state on a national and international stage, promoting the intellectual and innovative capital that makes Alabama a premier place to invest, start and grow in bioscience. BIO Alabama is the state partner of the life sciences trade organization Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). Members consist of bioscience organizations, universities, research facilities and service partners.