Avita appoints new chairman

Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) has appointed seasoned healthcare executive Lou Panaccio to the role of board chairman.

Panaccio has more than 30 years of experience as an executive in the healthcare and life sciences sectors, including 15 years of board experience.

He is currently non-executive director of Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL), executive chairman of Health Networks Australia and non-executive director of Inner East Community Health Service. Previous roles include a 10-year stint as CEO and a director of Melbourne Pathology.

Panaccio replaces Ian Macpherson, who had been serving as interim chairman since December following the resignation of long-serving chairman Dalton Gooding.

Macpherson said the board had selected Panaccio for the role because he has “a business background steeped in practical biomedical industry experience, particularly in business development and steering biotech and healthcare products from conception stages through to generating meaningful sales and revenue”.

This experience will serve the company well as it prepares to accelerate commercialisation efforts for its ReCell regenerative medicine technology, he said.

Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) shares were trading unchanged at $0.110 as of around 2 pm on Tuesday.