Jim Tananbaum CEO & Managing Director

Over the last 20 years, Jim has led investments in 21 successful companies, producing several multibillion and multi hundred million dollar outcomes. While finishing medical school, he founded Geltex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GENZ), bringing two drugs to market for less than $80 million; today these drugs sell $1.5 billion. GelTex was sold to Genzyme for $1.6 billion. Jim was a founding partner of Prospect Venture Partners II and III, and was founder and CEO of Theravance (NASDAQ: THRX) with a current market cap of $1.8 billion. Early in his career, Jim was a partner at Sierra Ventures and helped establish their healthcare service investment practice. Jim has led numerous investments including Amira Pharmaceuticals (acquired by NYSE: BMS), Amerigroup (NASDAQ: AMGP), Healtheon (NASDAQ:WBMD), and Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: JAZZ).

In 2011, Jim founded Foresite Capital to focus on a new investment strategy to invest in late stage healthcare companies with significant medical advances. Jim graduated from Yale with a B.S. and B.S.E.E., graduated with a M.D. from Harvard Medical School and an M.B.A from Harvard Business School. He has served on the advisory boards and/or visiting committees to the Harvard-MIT HST program and Yale School of Engineering.

View selected examples of Jim's previous investments

Dorothy Margolskee Managing Director

Dorothy has worked with Jim for the last decade at Prospect Ventures as a Managing Director in charge of Research and earlier as a Senior Vice President at Merck & Company having responsibility for a wide variety of clinical development programs and project planning. Dorothy received an MRL Divisional Scientific Award in 1998 for developing one of Merck's largest drugs, Singulair. In addition, she led the team that designed & implemented the advanced AIDS program during the development of Crixivan, one of the first HIV protease inhibitors that revolutionized the treatment of HIV infection.

Prior to joining Merck, Dorothy received an M.D. from Johns Hopkins Medical School where she was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha and has a B.S. from Harvard University where she graduated summa cum laude.

Matthew Buten Managing Director

Matt Buten has more than 15 years experience as a healthcare investor and 15 years experience in investment banking advising and structuring deals for both small and large capitalization companies. Most recently, he was a healthcare portfolio manager at Catapult/Millennium Partners focused on US healthcare services, medical technology, life science tools, big pharmaceutical, and specialty pharmaceutical. While at Millennium, he managed $400-600 million of combined long/short market neutral capital. Prior to joining Millennium in mid-2007, he was co-founder and co-manager of Sapphire Capital, where he focused on medical technology, diagnostics, life science tools suppliers, diagnostic services, and healthcare information technology. From 2000-2005 he was an equity analyst for Argus Partners and its predecessor. Argus was a $1 billion healthcare fund and Matt was focused on medical technology. Prior to Argus, he was Managing Director and Head of Healthcare Investment Banking for Needham and Company. While at Needham, he also sourced healthcare venture capital opportunities for their venture capital fund, Needham Capital Partners. Prior to joining Needham in 1996, he worked at Smith Barney as a Director in the Investment Banking division. He started there in 1985, as an investment banking Associate focused on mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings and spin-offs. Matt received his BS from the Wharton School in 1983 with a concentration in corporate finance.

Dennis D. Ryan CFO & Managing Director

Dennis has twenty-five years experience as a financial executive in the investment, real estate and private equity industries. After graduating from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in Economics and the University of Santa Clara with an M.B.A, Dennis began his career with the international accounting firm KPMG (Peat, Marwick & Mitchell). As a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) in California, Dennis has successfully served as chief financial officer in firms ranging from a publicly owned real estate investment trust (REIT), Western Properties Trust, to a sponsor of a series of venture debt funds, Lighthouse Capital Partners, to a start-up of investment funds, Berkeley Advisors Group. In his role as chief financial officer with these firms, his responsibilities included debt and equity financing, investment structuring, financial reporting, portfolio management and strategic planning. Most recently Dennis had a financial advisory practice providing CFO services and business and investment advisory services.

In addition to a successful business career, Dennis has taught finance courses at St. Mary's College and been an active member in the community with youth sports, Big Brothers and Board President of an eleven million dollar nonprofit serving those with serious mental illness.

Christine Aylward Managing Director

Christine has extensive business experience in healthcare and other industries as a business executive and strategic consultant, providing integrated marketing, communications, business development and investment strategies and services. Past clients include Genomic Health, Salix Pharmaceuticals, CardioDx, iScribe, Healtheon, WebMD and more. Christine was Partner, Executive Vice President, and a member of the Executive Committee for Epoch Partners, an investment bank that was acquired by Goldman Sachs. Prior to Epoch, Christine was the Senior Vice President of Ogilvy Worldwide, where she ran Ogilvy's San Francisco office.

At Hoffmann-La Roche, Christine managed the worldwide launch of polymerase chain reaction and Roche Molecular Systems, formed the first cross collaboration team between pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, developed the company's first direct to consumer marketing campaign for Rocephin, and was put on an executive development program by the Executive Committee. At Rhone-Poulenc Rorer she launched Taxotere, Gliadel, Rilutek, and Lovenox.

Christine is also the Co-founder of MakingOf, a digital media company in the entertainment sector.

Stephen C. Peterson Senior Analyst

Stephen Peterson has eight years of investment analyst experience in both equity and debt securities. Prior to Foresite Capital, Stephen was the Founder and President of SCP Capital Advisors, a sub-advisor for money management firms and early stage companies. Prior to founding SCP, Stephen worked as an analyst for Palo Alto Investors, a fundamental long/short equity hedge fund in Silicon Valley. During his four years with Palo Alto Investors, Stephen invested in public and private companies across a wide range of sectors. Stephen also worked as an analyst with Wells Fargo for several years.

In addition to his work with Foresite Capital, Stephen is the Co-founder and Director of Finance and Development for Yuwa, an Indian-based non-profit organization. He has also served as a guest lecturer on financial modeling and investment analysis at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business, UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and San Francisco State. Stephen is a CFA Charterholder. He is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of San Francisco. Stephen graduated from the University of Denver with a B.S.B.A. in finance and accounting.