Senior Vice President and General Manager, Life Sciences
Ronald L. Verkleeren is senior vice president and general manager, Life Sciences. In this role, Verkleeren has end-to-end responsibilities for the Life Sciences Market-Access Platform, including Corning Pharmaceutical Technologies (CPT) and Corning Life Sciences (CLS). He also has responsibility for identifying and developing new products and business opportunities in related markets.
Verkleeren began his career at Corning in 2001 in the Optical Communications segment. He joined the Life Sciences segment in 2004 and has held a variety of roles of increasing responsibility. In 2010, he was named division vice president and director of Advanced Life Sciences. In 2012, he was named division vice president and program director for Corning Pharmaceutical Technologies. In 2015, Verkleeren became vice president and the first general manager of the newly created Pharmaceutical Technologies division.
During his 21 years with Corning, Verkleeren has led several businesses as well as numerous innovation and growth initiatives. In Optical Communications, he grew a new business in the midst of a severe market decline. During his tenure in Life Sciences, he led major innovations such as Corning® HYPERFlask® and Corning Valor® Glass and launched numerous new products. He helped secure multi-year agreements with leading pharmaceutical customers and new regulatory approvals. Verkleeren also initiated and led the integration of several acquisitions.
Prior to Corning, Verkleeren spent seven years at the Ford Motor Company. He holds 12 U.S. patents and has authored numerous technical publications.
Verkleeren earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State University as well as a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.
