Stephen A. Block

Biography

Stephen A. Block, 70, has been a director of the Company since October 2007 and Chair of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Audit Committee since October 2007. From May 2010 to October 2011, Mr. Block served as Lead Independent Director to the Board. Mr. Block is also a director and chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee and a member of the audit committee of Senomyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNMX). He has served on the board of directors of Senomyx, Inc. since 2005. Since September 2013, he has served as a director of GetThis, Corp., a privately held digital media company bringing real-time shopping through a second screen to consumers watching television programming. Until December 2011, he also served as the chairman of the board of directors of Blue Pacific Flavors and Fragrances, Inc., and, until March 2012, as a director of Allylix, Inc. He served on the boards of directors of these privately held companies since 2008, and 2007, respectively. Mr. Block retired as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of International Flavors and Fragrances Inc., a leading creator, manufacturer and seller of flavors and fragrances (IFF) in December 2003, having been IFF’s chief legal officer since 1993. During his eleven years at IFF he also led the company’s Regulatory Affairs Department. Prior to 1993, Mr. Block served as senior vice president, general counsel, secretary and director of GAF Corporation, a company specializing in specialty chemicals and building materials, and its publicly traded subsidiary International Specialty Products Inc., held various management positions with Celanese Corporation, a company specializing in synthetic fibers, chemicals and plastics, and practiced law with the New York firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.

Research Interest

Mr. Block currently serves as an industry consultant and as a Managing Director of Venture Farm LLC, an early stage venture capital firm, and as a Venture Partner of K5 Venture Partners, LLC, an Orange County early stage venture firm. He is also a Managing Director of K5 Venture Partner, LLC’s affiliated accelerator K5 Launch and a member of the executive committee of the Orange County network of Tech Coast Angels, a leading investing group. Mr. Block received his B.A. cum laude in Russian Studies from Yale University and his law degree from Harvard Law School.