Mr Lombardi succeeds Stan Lapidus who will continue as chairman of the board of Helicos. Mr Lombardi, who will retain the position of president, has served as president and COO of the company since October 2007.
Prior to Helicos, Mr Lombardi spent four years as a senior vice president at Affymetrix, serving in executive positions for corporate development and various commercial roles. Mr Lombardi holds a degree in biology from Merrimack College.
Mr Lapidus said: “Since his appointment as president last October, Steve has done an outstanding job at leading the transition of Helicos from an R&D company to a fully functional commercial company. His promotion to CEO is well-earned. We all look forward to tremendous progress for Helicos under Steve’s leadership.”