Shannon Ward

Shannon Ward serves as the Senior Director and Chief of Staff at Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. since April 2023. Prior to this role, Shannon held multiple positions at Zymergen from June 2015, including Director of Strategy and Business Operations, Associate Director of HTP Strain Engineering, and Scientist in Strain Engineering. From November 2012 to May 2015, Shannon was a Senior Genetic Scientist at EdeniQ, focusing on microbial strain development for biocatalyst production. Earlier, from April 2008 to October 2012, Shannon worked as a Staff Scientist II at Codexis, developing biocatalysts for the pharmaceutical industry, and from January 2001 to March 2008, served as an Associate Scientist at Kosan Biosciences, engaging in the genetic engineering of polyketide synthase gene clusters. Shannon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from UCLA.