VC's Role in Healthcare Innovation and What it Means for Your Career

If any industry is in need of disruption, it's healthcare. In order to catalyze healthcare innovation, venture capital is backing new entrants that are challenging existing modes of care delivery, technology, data sharing and data analytics, and administrative processes. These start-ups focus on ways to lower costs, deliver high-quality care, use new technologies for clinical delivery, improve transparency, target wellness and prevention, and improve access to primary care. 2021 was a record year for healthcare funding, with almost $90 billion invested in the United States and Europe – an increase of 65% over 2020 and 150% over 2019. What is coming next in this space?

Please join us in person for networking and a conversation between John Nackel, PhD, the Founder and General Partner of Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health, and Jack Schlosser, the Center for Healthcare Management’s Executive-in-Residence. Jack and John will explore key events in John’s career, his thoughts about attaining sustained success, his approach to venture capital investment, and his insights about what sectors provide the most promise for innovation, disruption, and career opportunities. To better understand the impact venture capital is having in challenging existing modes of care delivery, we will take a deep dive into Wavemaker 360’s approach to investing, and, during this part of the program, we will be joined by Kwame Ulmer, a Wavemaker 360 venture partner and former Deputy Director of the FDA; Katie Marks-Cogan, Head Allergist at Ready, Set, Food!; and Daniel Zakowski, CEO and Co-Founder of Ready, Set, Food!. The conversations will be followed by Q&A with the live audience.

Read the program

John Nackel, PhD, Founder and CEO of Three-Sixty Advisory Group, LLC || Founder and General Partner at Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health.

John is a recognized national authority in the healthcare industry with over 45 years of healthcare industry experience across payers, providers, physicians, and life science companies. John has held several healthcare leadership positions, including global managing director of Ernst & Young’s (now EY) healthcare business and managing partner of EY’s venture capital fund. He was CEO of Sogeti North America and CEO of Ingenix Consulting (now Optum).

John holds a BS in mathematics and economics from Tufts University, masters’ degrees in public health and industrial engineering, and a PhD in industrial engineering from the University of Missouri. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (FHIMSS), and a senior member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE). He has written over 50 books, chapters, and articles on topics including performance improvement, entrepreneurship, governance, and leadership. John has served on three public company boards and many early-stage companies. He currently serves on the Pennant Services board (PTNG:NASDAQ) as well as several early-stage companies including: FastDetect, Visual Health Solutions, and Vitalacy.

Jack Schlosser, Founder and Principal of Desert Vista Advisors || Executive in Residence at UCLA Center for Healthcare Management

As Founder and Principal at Desert Vista Advisors, Jack provides advisory support and executive coaching to individual leaders, management teams, and organizations. His experience combines his passion for consulting and executive coaching with over three decades as a Partner with international executive search and leadership consulting firms (most recently Spencer Stuart) where he specialized in CEO, Board, and senior-level executive management assignments in the healthcare industry. During his search career, he conducted more than 400 CEO, Board Director, COO, CFO, CMO, and other top management searches for clients, including healthcare providers, physician organizations, academic medical centers, payors, associations, and professional service firms. He is certified as an executive coach by the Hudson Institute of Coaching in Santa Barbara, California, and a Life Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Jack received his MPH from UCLA and was inducted into the Upsilon Phi Delta Honor Society in recognition of his efforts to promote strong leadership in the industry. He received his BA from the United States International University, Cal Western campus. He is the first individual to receive both the Leadership Award and the Ira Alpert Service Award from the UCLA Health Policy and Management Alumni Association. He also serves on the Board of Partners in Care Foundation as well as a Trustee of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Foundation.

Kwame Ulmer, Managing Partner at MedTech Impact Partners || Venture Partner at Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health || Executive Director of MedTech Color

Kwame Ulmer is the Managing Partner at MedTech Impact Partners – A Regulatory Strategy Consulting Firm. Kwame brings twenty years of experience evaluating medical technologies in the government and private sector and serving in senior operating roles at medical device companies to help companies successfully engage the FDA. He has personally evaluated more than 1,000 medical technologies in his career. Kwame spent 12 years at the FDA in progressive leadership roles. He also served as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at Implant Direct, a Danaher Corporation operating company.

He is also a venture partner at Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health – the leading Southern-California-based, early-stage venture capital firm (Seed and Series A) focused on the healthcare industry. He leads the medtech practice and participates in all aspects of fund management. Kwame serves on the board of the University of Virginia Licensing and Ventures Group and California Life Sciences. He is also a lecturer and researcher in medtech innovation at the University of California, Los Angeles. Kwame founded MedTech Color, a nonprofit with a mission to advance the representation of persons of color in the medical device industry. He earned his B.S. in Physics from Lincoln University, and has two Masters degrees from the University of Virginia, in Materials Engineering and Business Administration.

Katie Marks-Cogan, M.D., Head Allergist at Ready, Set, Food!

Katie Marks-Cogan, M.D., the head allergist of Ready, Set, Food!, is board certified in Allergy/Immunology and Internal Medicine, and treats both pediatric and adult patients. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, she received her M.D. with honors from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She then completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Northwestern and fellowship in Allergy/Immunology at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania and CHOP. After finishing training, she moved to Southern California and works in private practice. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, 3-year-old son, and 8-month-old daughter where she enjoys hiking, building LEGO castles with her son, and cooking with her family.

Daniel Zakowski, CEO and Co-Founder of Ready, Set, Food!

Daniel Zakowski is a serial entrepreneur and started one of his first businesses during college selling latex gloves to dentists and doctors. He eventually grew the business to supply a complete line of dental consumable products, and reached a peak revenue of $10M. He has also worked with top CPG brands at the Wonderful Company and received an MBA from UCLA. He and his wife Jackie have 3 children, with their youngest happily using Ready, Set, Food! He is CEO and co-founder of Ready, Set, Food!