STONY BROOK, NY – May 15, 2017 — Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (Applied DNA, “the Company”) (NASDAQ: APDN), a provider of DNA-based supply-chain, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology, product genotyping and DNA mass production for diagnostics, appointed Elizabeth M. Schmalz Ferguson to the Company’s Board of Directors, effective June 1, 2017. Ms. Ferguson was selected to serve based on her sterling track record of accomplishments as a strategist and product leader within the cosmetics industry. This appointment brings the total number of Board members to eight.
Dr. James Hayward, president and CEO of Applied DNA, said, “The addition of Betsy Schmalz Ferguson to our Board is aligned with our strategy to expand the application of our technologies within the cosmetics market, and we expect we will benefit greatly from her expertise. We welcome her to the Board and look forward to working together as we increase our presence in the cosmetics and personal care industries.”
Ms. Ferguson said, “Increasingly, over the course of my career, consumers have been more vocal in demanding information on the origin of their personal care and cosmetic products, so they make empowered choices in the quality of products they use. I am proud to join the Board of Directors of Applied DNA. I believe the Company offers a powerful tool for ensuring the authenticity and identity of ingredients that move through the supply chain and make it into consumers’ hands, and onto their skin. I believe I can apply my 30-plus years’ experience to assist in these initiatives and am enthusiastic about working with the rest of the Applied DNA team as they strive to bringing authenticated products to market.”
An innovator in the cosmetics and fragrance industry, Ms. Ferguson started her senior management career at Revlon with responsibility for new product development for companies including Borghese, Ultima II, and Prestige fragrances. Later, as Senior Vice President of Corporate Product Development at Estée Lauder, her responsibilities included overseeing product development for some of the company’s most prominent brands. Subsequently, she was Executive Vice President of Product Development at Bath and Body Works and Victoria’s Secret for The Limited. She currently serves as President of American Flavors & Fragrances, a fragrance company, and President of her own consulting firm, Betsy Schmalz Ferguson & Associates. She is an active member of Cosmetic Executive Women. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Georgian Court University.
