Roy Roper, president and chief executive officer of the Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD), announced his pending retirement in a message to the staff of the organization. Roper joined the Blood Bank in December 2009 as vice president of administrative services and was named president and CEO in January 2011.
In making the announcement to employees, Roper said “It has been a pleasure being part of BBD for almost seven years. It has been a great experience knowing and working with so many fine employees. I appreciate being part of the BBD family, and am grateful for the opportunity to serve as your CEO and president.”
Roper plans to leave the organization in March.
A succession planning and leadership transition team has been formed and an executive search firm engaged to assist in helping recruit Roper’s replacement, according to BBD officials.
“Roy and the board are fully committed and engaged in executing a solid plan to facilitate a smooth transition. Hiring a leader who can continue Roy’s work in guiding BBD’s transformation into the future while maintaining long-term stability remains our primary focus to ensure ongoing service to the community,” said BBD Board Chair John Ferretti.
During his tenure as CEO, Roper has led BBD through an ongoing process of changes in response to significant shifts occurring in healthcare and related transfusion medicine environments. In addition to developing new customer products to benefit patients, he also led the effort to expand BBD’s laboratory testing capabilities, including installation of a new high-speed automated track processing system, becoming the first blood bank in the United States to use the technology.
BBD also became the second blood bank in the country to implement the INTERCEPTÒ blood system for pathogen reduction in platelet products, which provides a greater level of safety for hospital patients in the Delmarva region.