Will Shrank, Bio + Health Venture Partner
In our quest to back exceptional founders effecting transformative change in our healthcare system, we recognize and embrace the need for partnership with “the system.” To do that well requires a deep understanding of the industry’s esoteric nuance and unintuitive laws of physics, plus practical experience executing within it. It also requires working with entities that can bring distribution and scale to novel care delivery, financing, and infrastructure solutions. As a manifestation of this philosophy, we welcome Dr. Will Shrank as a Venture Partner to the a16z Bio + Health fund.
Will’s areas of expertise coincide with multiple mega trends driving the evolution of our healthcare system—value-based care, Medicare and Medicaid, pharmacy benefits, medication adherence and affordability, and healthcare policy. He’s led teams across the industry, including at CMMI where he served as the Director of Evaluation, helping to design early value-based payment models, and CVS Health where he designed partnerships between retail, pharmacy, clinics and risk-bearing health systems. He was also the CMO of UPMC Health Plan, and most recently, led clinical operations, primary care, and government affairs as the CMO and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Humana. Alongside this experience at major institutions, he’s been an academic researcher, practicing physician, and an advisor to startups.
Will is one of the few in healthcare who have successfully bridged the interface between large corporations, government, and upstarts. Having known Will for over a decade, I know, like anyone who has worked with him, that he brings incredible energy, thoughtfulness, and pragmatic optimism to the playing field.
We are thrilled to have Will join the a16z Bio + Health team in support of our research team, portfolio companies, and ecosystem partners.
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