Nine exceptional leaders in digital health
On January 11th, we co-hosted the fourth annual Top 50 in Digital Health dinner along with Fenwick & West and Goldman Sachs.
This year we honored nine leaders and organizations making exceptional impacts in digital health:
Angel of the Year: Sami Inkinen
Few angel investors so wholly embody their investment theses like Sami Inkinen. This world-class triathlete and self-proclaimed “data geek” knows how to spot technologies that will hugely impact our health and wellbeing. He’s invested in Augmedix, Lantern, MyFitnessPal, and Rise.
Crowfunding Hero: Empatica
Empatica’s Embrace is the first-of-its kind medical grade watch that measures epileptic seizures, among other things. To date, Embrace has raised 401% of its crowdfunding goal on Indiegogo.
Diversity Leadership Award: Castlight Health
Tackling complex problems in healthcare requires not only the brightest minds, but diverse ones too. Castlight has led by example for all digital health companies in assembling talented executives with distinct backgrounds to lead their mission. The Castlight leadership team includes doctors, developers, and 55% female executives.
Fastest Growing Company: Zenefits
Dubbed the “fastest growing SaaS company ever” by investors at Andreessen Horowitz, Zenefits has taken HR and health insurance by storm. Zenefits surpassed $20M in annual recurring revenue after less than two years in business, and expects to grow to over $100M in 2015.
Inventor of the Year: Babak Parviz
The future of healthcare has never looked brighter, thanks in large part to the invention of Google Glass and the Smart Contact Lens. The bionic contact lens, co-lead by Babak Parviz and announced in 2014, will measure blood glucose levels to control diabetes and prevent damage to the eyes, kidneys, and heart.
Most Beloved CEO: Frank Williams
Behind every great company is a great leader; and this year Evolent Health’s Chief Executive Frank Williams takes the cake. Frank received a 98% CEO approval rating on Glassdoor, the highest marks in our industry.
Most Prolific Corporate VC: Qualcomm Ventures
Leading the way with a record ten digital health investments, Qualcomm Ventures continues its reign as most prolific corporate VC. Jack Young, who heads up digital health investments for Qualcomm, accepted this award for the third year in a row.
Most Prolific VC: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
2014 was a blockbuster year for digital health, and KPCB led the investor pack. Partner Beth Seidenberg participated in eight digital health deals in 2014, earning the title of most prolific VC. KPCB digital health investments in 2014 included Kinsa, Mango Health, Spruce Health, Teladoc, and Zephyr Health.
Reporter of the Year: Sarah Kliff
Where technology news is too often siloed from healthcare, Sarah Kliff seamlessly and consistently reports digital health stories and complex healthcare issues through her writing at Vox.