Robert A. Swanson

Who was Robert A. Swanson?

Robert A. Swanson was a venture capitalist who cofounded the biotechnology giant Genentech in 1976 with Herbert Boyer. Genentech is a pioneer in the field, and it remains one of the leading biotech companies in the world.

Swanson graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He acquired a B.S. degree in Chemistry as well as a Master's degree in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Both degrees were conferred in 1970.

He is regarded as an instrumental figure in launching the biotechnology revolution. The authors of the book, 1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ranking the Men and Women Who Shaped the Millennium ranked Mr. Swanson number 612. Mr. Swanson was inducted into the Junior Achievement U. S. Business Hall of Fame in 2006. He received the 2000 Biotechnology Heritage Award posthumously with Herbert Boyer.

On 6 December 1999, he succumbed to brain cancer, at the age of 52.