The Research Triangle Foundation has handed its leadership reins to Bob Geolas, a Clemson University official and the former coordinator of N.C. State University's Centennial Campus.

Today the nonprofit organization, which operates the 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park, named Geolas president and CEO.  RTP is home to more than 170 companies and 38,000 full-time workers and has been a key economic engine for the region for decades.

The foundation lured Geolas back to the Triangle from Clemson's International Center for Automotive Research, which he joined as executive director in its infancy in  2004.

Under his watch ICAR attracted nearly $250 million in investments and $500 million in development and created 2,300 new jobs,  according to the foundation.

Geolas succeeds Rick Weddle, who resigned in February to become CEO of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

GlaxoSmithKline announced today that it has reached a $3 billion settlement agreement with the federal government, which had been investigating the company's marketing of its diabetes drug Avandia.

GSK announced back in January that it was taking a $3.5 billion charge to cover expenses linked to investigations and suits over Avandia.

The British company, which has its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park, has set aside more than $6 billion for legal costs tied to the drug, which has been linked to increased risk of heart attacks.

European regulators ordered Avandia off the market more than a year ago, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration restricted its use in the United States.
 

A publicly-traded life sciences company plans to open a new facility in Research Triangle Park that is expected to create 242 jobs over the next five years.

State officials awarded Sequenom as much as $2.3 million in incentives this morning if it meets hiring and investment goals.

The company is creating a facility to commercialize a noninvasive test for Down syndrome that it is preparing to launch.

The average salary for the new jobs will be $53,721, above the Wake County average of $44,980.

Sequenom expects to invest $18.6 million in its RTP site by 2015.

Current and former GlaxoSmithKline employees said good-bye yesterday to the company's Elion-Hitchings Building, one of Research Triangle Park's most iconic landmarks.

About 350 people came out for the event, which encouraged employees to share memories of the building and allowed them to take unlimited pictures inside and out. Employees previously needed permission from security for photos, said GlaxoSmithKline spokesman Robert Sutton.

Fidelity Investments this week closed on a real-estate deal to acquire four offices formerly occupied by Nortel Networks in Research Triangle Park.

The Boston financial services company will renovate the buildings this fall and will consolidate its North Carolina operations at the facilities. The four-building complex, known as Nortel's Network Center, have 680,000 square feet.

Fidelity currently has employees in RTP and Cary, including in two former Nortel buildings that Fidelity had been leasing. The company closed on the buildings Wednesday.

Fidelity's operations in RTP include support for individual, employer and institutional clients. The site also has a retirement call center and a data center, requiring technology and IT employees.

Cisco Systems, one of the region's biggest employers, is set to unveil a new $100 million data center in Research Triangle Park that was touted by CEO John Chambers on his visit here over a year ago.

The two-story facility will showcase a lab where Cisco will develop and test software applications as well as a data recovery site for use during emergencies.

Cisco, the nation's largest computer networking company, hopes to sell its customers on buying routing and switching equipment to build similar data centers. The Silicon Valley company, which employs 4,800 in RTP, is so high on the data center it's hosting an open house next week to show off the facility.

The company says the dual function -- R&D lab and disaster recovery -- are unique in the industry.
 

Fidelity Investments, which five years ago announced plans to build a new campus in Research Triangle Park, is now seeking to purchase an existing office park that was once occupied by Nortel Networks.

The Boston mutual fund company is in negotiations to buy the Network Center, a four building complex that includes 680,000 square feet, said Fidelity spokesman Vincent Loporchio.

"We saw an opportunity to unite our workforce in a campus environment at a location we know and like," he said.

The deal isn't finalized, but could close within the next several weeks, Loporchio said.

Fidelity employs about 2,200 people at five different buildings in Cary and RTP, where it has technology, customer service and human resources operations. It also has a data center in the park.

Fidelity already leases two of the four buildings in the Network Center. Last year, the company signed a 10-year lease to occupy 220,000 square feet that it had been subleasing from Nortel.

As the N.C. Turnpike Authority moves toward the opening late this year of the Triangle Parkway, I'm reporting on how RTP-area commuters are affected by the construction and the new toll road.

EPA, NIEHS and other folks will be affected when some existing routes are changed.  Is this making it harder for you to get to work in the morning and home at night?

Will North Carolina's first modern toll road give you an easier drive each day?

Please let me hear for you: call me at 919-829-4527 or email me, and don't forget to leave your full name and daytime contact info.  Thanks.

Bayer CropScience has named Jim Blome president and CEO and head of crop protection for the North American region.

Blome takes over July 1. He succeeds Bill Buckner, who will retire at the end of the year.

Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of German conglomerate Bayer, produces insecticides and other crop protection products.

The company has 550 workers in the Triangle spread out among its North American headquarters in RTP plus Morrisville and Clayton.

Blome was most recently an executive vice present and chief operation officer with Valent U.S.A. Corporation, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical Company,

He led the company's North American crop protection business and oversaw 270 employees.

The Research Triangle Foundation has hired a Greenboro-based executive search firm to help recruit the organization's next CEO.

The foundation, which oversees the 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park, announced today that it selected Jorgenson Consulting to conduct its search, which will be run by a nine-person search committee comprised of foundation board members. The foundation cited Jorgenson's experience in recruiting in the non-profit and economic development arenas.

The foundation is seeking to replace Rick Weddle, who announced his departure in February to become CEO of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.