Company: Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA
Entry Submitted By: Canale Communications
Company Description: Life Technologies Corporation is a global biotechnology tools company dedicated to improving the human condition. Life Technologies had sales of $3.3 billion in 2009, has a presence in approximately 160 countries, and possesses a rapidly growing intellectual property estate of approximately 3,900 patents and exclusive licenses.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Fastest-Growing Company of the Year - More Than 2,500 Employees

Nomination Title: Life Technologies

1. Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved since January 1 2009 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes. Begin this section with the following two lines: Year over year revenue growth (%): Year over year employee growth (%):

• Year over year revenue grew five percent, from $3.14 billion reported in 2008
to $3.30 billion in 2009 (non-GAAP, as if Invitrogen and Applied Biosystems had
been combined), reflecting seven percent organic growth, 300 basis points of
operating margin expansion and $534 million in free cash flow
• Employee growth to approximately 9000

The 2008 acquisition of Applied Biosystems by Invitrogen created a life sciences
powerhouse, giving customers a single company from which they could purchase the
highest quality instruments and reagents they need to achieve their experimental
goals. Because the Applied Biosystems/Invitrogen merger had the potential to
transform the life sciences tools industry, seamless integration of the legacy
companies was essential. 2009 saw the visionary executive team’s execution of
programs that changed the operating rhythm of the organization and molded the
company under one, synergized umbrella brand.

The first strategic imperative in 2009 was the delivery of a smooth integration,
critical to the success of the company. The executive team methodically executed
upon their integration plans, which enabled them to deliver over $100 million in
synergies, considerably higher than original expectations.

In addition, the team blended corporate cultures from two legacy companies with
two very different ways of doing things. Accomplishing this task was not easy,
as it required the development of new infrastructure that was uniform across two
4,000-employee plus legacy companies, and it required intent and execution
across all departments. An example of the success of this integration was the
launch of Life Technologies’ innovative Attune Acoustic Flow Cytometer. Early
development of the instrument occurred at Invitrogen, but the Invitrogen legacy
brand was not known as a power house in the development of capital equipment.
Marketing managers from legacy Applied Biosystems, which had a stellar
reputation in the development of large instruments, joined their their legacy
Invitrogen counterparts joined forces to launch the new system under the Applied
Biosystems, sharing resources and insights to launch a new technology into the
cell biology market that was new to Applied Biosystems but in which Invitrogen
had a strong reputation.

Demonstrating this smooth integration is the fact that Life Technologies has
built an incredibly talented workforce, with a 94 percent retention rate. Sales
teams were recently ranked number one by customers in both instruments and
reagents. Life Technologies’ extensive service and support teams are focused on
providing the highest service level to customers, and this is reflected in the
tremendous growth the company has seen in the past year.

2009 was a strong year on a number of measures including organic growth, new
product launches and productivity gains. Life Technologies ended 2009 with seven
percent organic growth, 300 basis points of operating margin expansion and $534
million in free cash flow. This performance was the result of a lot of hard work
and executing on three strategic imperatives; delivering on the integration,
realizing the potential of the new company and investing for future growth,
culminating in a share price increase in 2009 of 124 percent.

Life Technologies launched over 1,000 new products in 2009, including the flow
cytometer, Attune, launched in December 2009 at the American Society of Cell
Biology Conference to outstanding reviews from customers and industry experts
alike. In addition to the new instruments introduced, 2009 was another year of
rapid releases for new reagent products and benchtop devices. Currently, Life
Technologies products can be found in 90 percent of life science research
laboratories across the United States according to a survey by Percepta
Associates Inc. In fact, only one other company, Thermo Fisher Scientific, has
greater revenues in the markets Life Technologies reaches. These products
enable discoveries in a wide range of research areas, from personalized and
regenerative medicine, to food safety and 21st century forensics.

The scope of Life Technologies is broader than either company could have
achieved on a stand-alone basis. As a combined company, Life Technologies serves
over 160 countries around the world, process 11,000 orders and distribute more
than 8,000 shipments each day. Geographic presence and large volume of orders
allows Life Technologies to drive down cost and become ever more efficient in
its operations. The combination of Invitrogen and Applied Biosystems' strengths
is proving to be a true competitive advantage that will sustain Life
Technologies into the future.

2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

http://www.lifetechnologies.com/news-gallery/press-releases/2010/life-technologies-announces-fourth-quarter-and-fiscal-year-2009--results.html

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/21/merger-isnt-cramping-life-technologies-style/

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2624440820100330?type=marketsNews

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:

Gregory T. Lucier serves as Chief Executive Officer of Life Technologies and as
Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors. Previously, he served as Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of Invitrogen Corporation from 2003 until 2008, when
the company merged with Applied Biosystems in November 2008 to form Life
Technologies. Mr. Lucier serves on the BIO Board of Directors as well as on the
board of the Burnham Institute of Medical Research. He is actively involved at
San Diego State University as a distinguished lecturer. He received his B.S. in
Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and an M.B.A. from Harvard
Business School.