TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2024 / Lumira Ventures, a life sciences investment firm dedicated to supporting healthcare innovation and patient impact, is proud to announce several significant advancements and promotions within its investment team. “As we commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8th, 2024, it is crucial to recognize the invaluable contributions of women in the workforce,” said Peter van der Velden, Managing Director at Lumira Ventures. “Lumira was among the first VC firms in Canada with a female partner and these team promotions along with the recent new addition to our team showcase the indispensable contributions and influence of women in leadership roles shaping the professional landscape within venture capital.”
Lumira Ventures commends the dedication and accomplishments of three deserving employees who have been promoted to elevated leadership positions. These promotions underscore Lumira’s commitment to nurturing and empowering talent from within our organization. The following team members, all talented women, have been promoted to positions of new responsibility within the firm.
Suman Rao, Ph.D. has been promoted to Senior Associate. Suman has continuously demonstrated strong leadership and strategic insight since joining the Lumira Ventures investment team in 2021. In her new role, she will take on additional responsibilities for sourcing, evaluating and closing new investments and serving on the boards of Lumira portfolio companies. As well she will continue being a core member of the team developing and promoting new strategies with our partner Angelini Ventures to pursue the growing opportunity we see from our investment approach in Europe.
Baye Galligan, MA, HBA, has been promoted to Director of Research. Since joining Lumira in 2017, Baye has been an integral part of our investment team. In 2021 she became one of the internal leads on supporting our Venture Innovation Program, which mentors current Ph.D., M.D. or MBA students through a 6-12 month in-house fellowship in venture capital and entrepreneurship. As this program expanded, and as Lumira continued to deepen its pro-active internal research, it presented a perfect opportunity for Baye to take the lead with respect to prioritizing and developing the research to support new investment themes and portfolio company value creation through the application of traditional and AI-enabled research tools.
Alyssia Watkin has been promoted to Director of Communications and Investor Relations. After joining Lumira first as an intern and then as our first dedicated internal marketing resource in 2021, Alyssia has played a pivotal role in transforming our marketing and communications functions in support of our investor community and external stakeholders. In her new position, she will take on additional responsibilities related to the firm’s fundraising initiatives and limited partner relationship management, as well as coordinating Lumira’s communications initiatives supporting our portfolio companies.
Along with these promotions, Lumira Ventures welcomes the new addition of:
Isabelle Harris, HBA to our team, as an Analyst. Isabelle brings a rich background in life sciences and strategy consulting to the Lumira team. She holds a B.S in genetics from Western University and an HBA from Ivey Business School. In her new role, she will collaborate with the investment team and support the evaluation of new investment opportunities, utilizing her understanding of industry dynamics and analytical acumen to help drive investment decisions across our various investment funds.
Lumira Ventures is excited to have Isabel join the team and looks forward to the leadership of the newly promoted team members. Their diverse backgrounds, distinctive perspectives, and commitment to excellence embody the essence of International Women’s Day. As we join the world in celebrating this important day, Lumira Ventures reaffirms its dedication to fostering gender equality, empowerment, and an inclusive workplace where everyone has the opportunity to flourish, not just today, but every day.
For more information, please visit www.lumiraventures.com
Media Inquiries: info@lumira.vc
About Lumira Ventures
Founded in 2007, Lumira Ventures is a multi-stage life sciences investment firm with offices in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Boston. We partner with mission-driven entrepreneurs building companies that harness rapidly evolving advancements in medicine to develop transformative products for patients while delivering strong financial returns for our investors and meaningful economic value and impact for society.
SOURCE: Lumira Ventures