SAN FRANCISCO — Breakout Ventures, which invests in creative bioscience entrepreneurs, is welcoming five new venture partners. These industry leaders will lend their experience to diligence new investments and advise Breakout’s portfolio companies on product development and commercialization strategy.
“We’ve had the pleasure of knowing these founders and advisors for many years and are delighted to have them join us as an extension of our team,” said Lindy Fishburne, Managing Partner, Breakout Ventures. “Their experience spans from the earliest stages of product development to large-scale commercial success at the forefront of the bio-revolution.”
[Photo above: From left to right, top then bottom row: Sridhar Iyengar, PhD: Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Elemental Machines; Coco Krumme, PhD: Founder, Leeward Co; Rebecca Nugent, PhD: VP of HTP Operations, Tessera Therapeutics; Walter Solomon: Board Director; Ilan Zipkin, PhD: Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Supercede Therapeutics (Graphic: Business Wire)]
Venture partners include:
Sridhar Iyengar, PhD: Sridhar is a serial founder, angel investor, and advisor to science-driven startups in the Boston ecosystem. He is the founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Elemental Machines, a company integrating hardware, software, and data science solutions to redefine connectivity in laboratory and manufacturing spaces. Sridhar holds over 100 US and international patents and received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University as a Marshall Scholar.
Coco Krumme, PhD: Coco is an applied mathematician and founder of Leeward Co, a boutique computational sciences consultancy. She has led data teams in Silicon Valley, taught in the data science programs at UC Berkeley and University of Michigan, and is author of the popular science book Optimal Illusions. Coco holds a PhD from MIT and a BS from Yale.
Rebecca Nugent, PhD: Rebecca is an R&D executive focused on commercializing biotechnology research in synthetic biology, genomics, and biopharma. She is the VP of HTP Operations at Tessera Therapeutics, a company pioneering genome engineering technology. She led Synthego’s research department and spent six years at Twist Bioscience developing synthetic biology products. Rebecca received her PhD from the University of Southern California.
Walter Solomon: Walter has spent his career driving growth in both Fortune 500 corporations and Inc 5000 start-ups across a wide range of industries including life sciences, chemicals, and consumer products/retail. As the Vice President and Chief Growth Officer for Ashland Inc., Walter led the company’s transformation into a $6 billion global specialty materials and retail company. Walter advises numerous portfolio companies of VC and PE firms, including as a board member for Checkerspot, a Breakout Ventures investment. He holds a BS from the University of Virginia.
Ilan Zipkin, PhD: Ilan has been a life science investor and entrepreneur for over 20 years as a partner with institutional and corporate venture funds. Most recently, he was a partner at Aditum Bio, guiding negotiation of therapeutic product in-licenses and new company formation. He is currently the founder and CEO of Supercede Therapeutics, a small molecule drug development company. Ilan holds a PhD in cell biology and biochemistry from UCSF.
