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Michael Falk named Chief Intellectual Property and Licensing Officer; Stephanie Adamany named General Counsel; John Gransee named Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) has announced that Michael Falk has been named Chief Intellectual Property and Licensing Officer, Stephanie Adamany has been named General Counsel, and John Gransee has been named WARF’s Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer. These promotions are effective October 1, 2019.
Falk has been with WARF since 2000 and played multiple roles in the organization including in licensing as well as leading intellectual property and legal activities. As Chief Intellectual Property and Licensing Officer, he will be responsible for leading the intellectual property and licensing teams for this technology transfer organization that supports University of Wisconsin-Madison innovations.
Adamany has been with WARF since 2006 and is being promoted from Deputy to General Counsel. In that role Adamany will serve as the organization’s chief legal officer, overseeing WARF’s legal affairs including corporate governance and litigation, and will be responsible for leading the legal and human resource teams.
John Gransee has served as WARF’s Chief Financial Officer since 2017 and will add assuming leadership of organizational operations moving forward. Gransee has extensive background in leading operations for Covance, Indianapolis, Indiana, a division of LabCorp and Baxter International, Inc.
Erik Iverson, WARF’s Chief Executive Officer, said of the promotions, “John, Stephanie and Michael are proven leaders at WARF and they are natural stewards of the core work that WARF has built our nearly 100 year legacy on.”
Leigh Cagan, who has served as WARF’s Chief Technology Commercialization Officer since 2010, announced his retirement in May of this year. Cagan will remain in the office part-time in that capacity for a period of months as WARF works through the leadership transition.
About WARF
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) helps steward the cycle of research, discovery, commercialization and investment for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Founded in 1925 as an independent, nonprofit foundation, WARF manages more than 2,000 patents and an investment portfolio of $2.8 billion as it funds university research, obtains patents for campus discoveries and licenses inventions to industry. For more information, visit warf.org.
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