Menlo Park, CA – January 13, 2015 – New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA), a global venture capital firm, today announced the promotions of three members of its investing team: Frank Torti, M.D., to Partner; Rick Yang to Partner; and Aaron Jacobson to Principal.
Frank Torti joined NEA in 2007, and has focused on investments across the healthcare spectrum, particularly in biopharma and medical devices. He has worked closely with Dermira since the company's inception and is a director of NeoTract, Galera Therapeutics, and Cerecor. In addition, Dr. Torti represents NEA's healthcare team on the firm's China Investment Committee and was involved in NEA’s investments in China-based CITIC Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Shanghai Pharmaceuticals) and Novast Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Torti has also focused on NEA’s public healthcare investment practice, including investments in Alimera Sciences, Cadence Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Mallinckrodt plc), Peplin (acquired by LEO Pharma), Rigel, and Solta Medical (acquired by Valeant).
Rick Yang joined NEA in 2007 and is focused on information and financial technology investments. He also co-manages NEA's seed practice. Mr. Yang is currently on the board of mNectar and TabbedOut, and he works closely with Euclid, Fyusion, GoEuro, Olio Devices, Plaid, Soraa, and Stride Health. He was historically involved with Braintree (acquired by PayPal), Gaikai (acquired by Sony), and Pure Energies (acquired by NRG).
"Frank and Rick have each made significant contributions to NEA’s healthcare and technology investing practices, respectively. They have demonstrated outstanding leadership and investment judgment and we're very pleased to recognize them as invaluable assets to the NEA team," said Peter Barris, Managing General Partner of NEA. "Both bring substantial experience and passion for aiding entrepreneurs in building transformational companies, and have proven to be wonderful partners to NEA colleagues and portfolio companies alike."
Aaron Jacobson joined NEA in 2011 and is focused on information and energy technology, with associated investments including Bloom Energy, Box, Conviva, Coursera, IIX, Gainspeed, Kumu, Lattice, Mimosa, Move Guides, NGINX, Philo, and Stormpath. Mr. Jacobson has also engaged with many NEA portfolio companies through many of the firm’s business development initiatives.
"These promotions continue a long trend of recognizing and rewarding individuals within NEA who exemplify great investors and great partners,” added Mr. Barris. "We appreciate the many contributions each has made to the firm, and we look forward to their continued success at NEA."
About NEA
New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With approximately $13 billion in committed capital, NEA invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm's long track record of successful investing includes more than 195 portfolio company IPOs and more than 320 acquisitions. For additional information, visit www.nea.com.
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Contact:
NEA
Kate Barrett
+1-301-272-2318; kbarrett@nea.com
