Joseph Panetta

Portrait of Joseph Panetta

Joseph Panetta
M.P.H., Industrial and Environmental Health, University of Pittsburgh, PA; B.S., Biological Sciences, LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY
President and CEO
BIOCOM

BIOGRAPHY

Joe Panetta is President & CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Biocom, the southern California association that advocates for 620 companies, service sector firms, universities and research institutes working in the biotechnology and biomedical device arena. As President and CEO since 1999, Mr. Panetta has been responsible for leading Biocom's efforts to position the regional life science community to achieve global success. Working with an experienced professional staff of 25 and a 60 member Board of Directors, he leads programs in capital formation, public policy, workforce education, and member-to-member services. He also oversees several subsidiaries of Biocom, including a Purchasing Group which provides more than $40 million in products and services to members, and is a co-founder of the Biocom Political Action Committee, the Biocom Institute for education and workforce development, and the California Biotechnology Foundation, a joint initiative to inform legislators and the media about the life science industry in the state, of which he is Chairman.

Joe is active on various boards, business coalitions and committees addressing issues pertinent to the life science industry. In January, 2014 Mr. Panetta was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown to the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee which serves as the governing and oversight Board for the CA Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and is responsible for providing grant funding under the $3 billion CA stem cell initiative. He is a past chairman of the board of the San Diego Workforce Partnership and sits on the boards of directors of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, CleanTECH San Diego, and CONNECT. He is a member of advisory boards of the pharmacy school at UC San Diego, the engineering school at San Diego State University, and the college of science and mathematics at Cal State University San Marcos.

Joe earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from LeMoyne College and a Master of Public Health degree in industrial and environmental health from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a graduate of the Brookings Institution program for executives and the Harvard program on negotiation. His pursuits outside of Biocom include completing the Rock and Roll Marathon in 3:39:42, zip lining in Costa Rica, and diving to 650 feet in a nuclear submarine.

SDSU Affiliations:

  • College of Engineering – Advisory Board

Other Affiliations:

  • San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
  • San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation 
  • CleanTech San Diego
  • CONNECT
  • Cal State San Marcos College of Science & Mathematics Advisory Board
  • UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmaceutical Science Dean’s Advisory Board
  • University Club Board of Governors
  • American Cancer Society
  • Lincoln Club of San Diego