Dr. Victoria Haynes receives Service Sector award  

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. â€“ RTI International President and CEO Dr. Victoria Haynes has been named 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year in the Services Sector for the Carolinas by the accounting firm Ernst & Young.

The award was presented in recognition of Haynes’ leadership in driving the remarkable growth and transformation taking place at RTI.  

Since Haynes became RTI’s president and CEO in1999, RTI has added more than 700 employees, has more than doubled its annual revenue from $200 million to $509 million, and has become the nation’s second largest independent nonprofit research company. 

During the same time, RTI has acquired three companies, spun off two commercial technologies into startup companies (Ziptronix and Nextreme), established a commercial division that conducts research for large pharmaceutical companies (RTI Health Solutions) and has undertaken the largest international development project in its 46-year history to help establish local governments throughout post-war Iraq.

“The success we have enjoyed in recent years is a result of the creative spirit, innovation and hard work of our researchers, who have always been RTI’s most prized assets,” Haynes said.  “While my name may appear on the award, I am proud to say this award was earned by every one of our team members at RTI.”

Since becoming RTI’s president, Haynes has focused on commercializing RTI’s intellectual properties and globalizing its operations as a means of generating the net operating revenue necessary to reinvest in the staff and to accommodate an expanding organization with global capabilities. 

A chemist by training, Haynes joined RTI following a 22-year career of corporate research leadership and management at BFGoodrich Company and Monsanto Research Corporation.  She earned a doctorate degree in physical/organic chemistry from Boston University, a master’s in college teaching from Boston University, and a bachelor’s in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley.

Haynes currently serves as a corporate board member on behalf of Lubrizol Corp.; Nucor Corp.; PPG Industries, Inc.; Kansas Bioscience Authority and Ziptronix, Inc. 

Highlights of RTI’s entrepreneurial business success in recent years include the following:

• In 2000, RTI created RTI Health Solutions, a separate business operating unit designed to conduct pharmaceutical research for commercial clients.  In less than four years, the division has grown from 20 to 75 employees and won more than 500 research contracts.  A truly virtual company, RTI Health Solutions has offices in the United States and United Kingdom and staff members working in Sweden, San Diego and Philadelphia.      

• In 2001, RTI established its Partnerships for Genomics and Molecular Epidemiology initiative, through which RTI partners with world-class researchers at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, SAS, IBM and others to capture emerging opportunities in the genomics field.  During fiscal year 2004, less than three years since it was created, the initiative won $52 million in research contracts. 

• Less than three years ago, RTI’s International Development Group was a relatively small division within RTI’s Social and Statistical Sciences Group that focused on health, education and governance in developing nations.  Today, it is a multimillion dollar business, with projects in more than 20 countries.  Most prominent among these projects is RTI’s Iraq Local Governance Project, which is supporting the establishment of democratic local governments and improving delivery of municipal services throughout post-war Iraq, under contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development.  During the past 18 months, RTI’s International Development Group has won $264 million in international development contracts, unrelated to its work in Iraq.

• In January 2005, RTI broke ground for a new science and engineering laboratory, representing a major investment in the future of scientific research at RTI, a move that was made possible through funds generated since 1999.  RTI is investing $20 million in a new 78,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility to support its vision to become the world’s premier research institute. 

Dr. Haynes, along with other regional winners, will now be considered for the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.  Winners of the national award will be announced in November.

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About RTI International

RTI International is an independent nonprofit research organization dedicated to conducting research and development that improves the human condition.  With a staff of more than 2,500 people, RTI offers innovative research and technical solutions to governments and businesses worldwide in the areas of health and pharmaceuticals, advanced technology, surveys and statistics, education and training, economic and social development, and the environment.  For more information, please visit us at:  www.rti.org.