The rest of the 50 (in alphabetical order): Kurt Sheline, principal, Echo Health Ventures

Kurt Sheline is a principal on the strategic investment team at Echo Health Ventures, an investment joint venture for healthcare provider Cambia Health Solutions and health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. He joined the unit in March 2017 as a senior associate, before being promoted to principal in March 2018.

Rob Coppedge, the unit’s chief executive, said in his nomination of Sheline: “Kurt has shown strong leadership in his development of investment themes on behavioural health and substance abuse disorder, both of which have led to strong pipeline opportunities and upcoming transactions.

“Through his capacity to research and understand a market, Kurt will continue to create investment opportunities. In addition, Kurt works closely with the senior management teams and board of Cambia Health Solutions and Mosaic Health Solutions and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina to support collaboration with Echo’s portfolio companies, accelerate their strategies and more quickly bring healthcare innovation to the national scale.”

Sheline currently serves as a director on the board of healthcare data analytics software provider Springbuk, whose services are used by employers, benefits consultants, onsite clinics and third-party administrators to identify health savings opportunities within an employer population.

He is also a board observer for Octave Bioscience, a care management service for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, and precision medicine platform operator GNS Healthcare, having also been a board observer for healthcare transportation provider Circulation, which was acquired by medical transportation operator LogistiCare in September 2018.

Sheline oversaw GNS Healthcare’s $23m series D round led by Cigna Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of healthcare provider Cigna, in July 2019, having also led investments in behavioural health technology provider Quartet Health and a $14m series A round for Octave Bioscience in July 2018.

Before joining Echo in 2017, Sheline was a vice-president at investment banking firm Cascadia Capital’s healthcare technology and services group where he worked with management teams in the life sciences, healthtech and healthcare services industries, providing business development, positioning, sales and marketing and transaction advisory and execution services.

Sheline holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree with magna cum laude in economics from Claremont McKenna College.

Edison Fu

Edison Fu is a reporter and Asia liaison at Global Corporate Venturing.