In latest news from securities and patent filings: An NCSU professor has received a patent for a new plant; Cree is paying its new CEO a salary of $850,000; and a QuintilesIMS exec cashes in on 10,000 shares.

The details as reported by North Carolina Business News Wire:

  • N.C. State University professor receives patent for new plant called “Miss Violet”

By Olivia Schaber

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RALEIGH – A North Carolina State University professor from the department of horticulture science received a patent for a new plant called “Miss Violet,” according to a filing last week with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Dennis J. Werner, the inventor who filed for the patent in June, teaches classes in plant propagation, herbaceous perennials and breeding asexually propagated crops.

According to the patent application, “Miss Violet” is a new and distinct variety of Buddleja plant characterized by its compact stature, semi-upright growth habit, violet flower color, oblong-elliptic leaf shape, distorted male flower parts called anthers resulting in male sterility, and female structures that show reduced function, resulting in reduced seed formation.

Buddleja is also known as “butterfly bush” and is grown as an ornamental shrub used for landscaping. Butterfly bush is grown for its fragrant flowers that bloom year round.

Werner conducted the first asexual propagation of “Miss Violet” in fall 2010 at N.C. State. Test plantings and performance evaluations were conducted at a research station in Jackson Springs, North Carolina, and at a greenhouse in Raleigh over five years.

Werner graduated from Michigan State University with a Ph.D. in horticulture in 1979 and has published several horticulture related publications.

He received his Bachelor of Science in horticulture from Pennsylvania State University in 1973 and his Master’s Degree in horticulture from Michigan State University in 1975. He began teaching at N.C. State in 1979.

Read more about Miss Violet at:

https://cals.ncsu.edu/horticultural-science/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/09/Miss-Violet-release-notice.pdf

  • Quintiles IMS executive profits over $1.2 million from stock options

By Addison Lalier

DURHAM – A Quintiles IMS executive exercised company options and sold stock to profit over $1.2 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Vice President James H. Erlinger III exercised 10,000 options at $30.07 a share, for a total value of $300,700. He sold 10,000 shares at a price of $94.52, for a total value of $945,200. Erlinger profited a total of $1.24 million from the transaction.

Erlinger was appointed vice president and general counsel of Quintiles in January 2013. He is responsible for Quintiles’ global legal operations. Prior to Quintiles, Erlinger served a 27-year career at the law firm of Bryan Cave in St. Louis, Missouri.

Quintiles IMS is global health information services and clinical research company. The Durham-based company has a team of 50,000 employees in over 100 markets.

Quintiles stock closed Friday at $95.07 per share, up 11 cents.

  • Cree to pay new CEO a salary of $825,000

By Sissy Rodriguez

DURHAM – Cree Inc., the Durham-based LED lighting company, will pay new Chief Executive Officer Gregg Lowe a base salary of $825,000, according to a filing released last week.

Additionally, Lowe will also be eligible to participate in the company’s annual performance-based cash incentive compensation program, with a target award of 140 percent of his annual base salary.

The bonus will depend upon the extent to which the applicable performance goals set by the company are achieved by Lowe.

Cree also awarded Lowe a sign-on equity grant of performance stock units and restricted stock units with a value of $5,000,000.

Lowe was named CEO, taking the place of Chuck Swoboda, on Sept. 25. Prior to joining Cree, Lowe served as chief executive officer and president at Freescale Semiconductor. Before that, he was senior vice president and leader of the analog business for Texas Instruments.

In 2016, Swoboda received a base salary of $785,000, with a bonus of $252,770 and $5,003,146 in stock awards.