Michael Farmer

Michael Farmer served as the Chairman of the Board of Akonni Biosystems from 2004 to 2012. Michael recently retired from Prosetta Biosciences having served as President and Co-CEO for 13 years. Prior to joining Prosetta as a startup, he served as President and CEO of HandyLab, a biotech located in Ann Arbor MI. Previously, Mr. Farmer was COO of Veridian, a billion-dollar defense contractor that operated the world’s most advanced cyber security tools and services for protecting the most sensitive computer networks for government agencies. He was the managing partner in WindRiver Group, a professional consulting firm that provided strategic advice to senior management in both major companies and smaller growth and start-up companies. As President and CEO of Infotronics and COO of its parent, American Medical Communications, Houston-based medical communications and information companies, Mr. Farmer brought these $10 million companies to profitability within one year after a six-year history of losses. Mr. Farmer also co-founded Age Wave, a firm that consults with Fortune 500 business leaders and government agencies in the challenges and opportunities of the aging of America. He was COO of the Hospital Satellite Network (HSN) during its startup years. As Executive Vice President of Harbridge House, the Boston-based management consulting firm formed by professors from the Harvard Business School, Mr. Farmer headed up the firm’s national healthcare and defense practices over a ten-year period. Following initial college graduation, Michael worked as an engineer holding various classified positions in the Department of Defense and intelligence agencies. During those ten years, he lived in Hawaii, the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, principally worked with high technology Navy engineering systems and communications and computer systems. He also attended extensive nuclear power training, U.S. Navy diving training, and earned a pilot license while on assignment within the Naval Sea Systems Command. He holds degrees in engineering and business. Michael has been a moderator at the Aspen Institute wherein he graduated from the Institute’s flagship Executive Leadership Development Program and has served as a guest lecturer in Harvard’s Advanced Management Program, at the Haas School of Business Administration at University of California Berkeley and at the University of Michigan’s MBA graduate program.