IW’s New CIO

By Rich Lunak, IW CEO

I’m excited to share with you the news about our Chief Investment Officer. As many of you know, Gary Glausser retired after eight years as our CIO. Though we will miss Gary and all he brought to the role, it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to the next CIO for Innovation Works: Ven Raju. Ven is going to be a fantastic addition to our team.

Ven will lead the organization’s investment process, help portfolio companies achieve their fundraising strategies, and manage relations with angels, VC’s, corporates and other investors interested in potential deals in portfolio companies. He will also be the Managing Director of Riverfront Ventures, the for-profit investment fund managed by IW.

Ven comes to IW with a blend of technological and investment experience. He was a partner in Choate Capital Partners and Chestnut Ventures and was most recently VP and Managing Director of Northwell Ventures, the corporate venture group of New York’s largest healthcare provider, Northwell Health. Ven has led/co-led all facets of the investment process including origination, due diligence, transaction structuring and portfolio management. He also has extensive experience working directly with startups as a board member. Ven’s educational background is deeply ingrained in both engineering and business: MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, MS in public policy and business administration from University of Oxford, a masters in systems engineering from University of Pennsylvania, and BS in engineering from George Washington University.

Ven joins Innovation Works at a great time. Pittsburgh is strengthening its position as a world leader in the development of software, hardware and life sciences companies and IW and our portfolio are directly in the middle of this phenomena. As the region’s most active investor, IW’s portfolio companies are developing and scaling up some of the most noteworthy technologies in the region, gaining traction and attracting attention. Ven will be instrumental in helping the portfolio companies achieve growth and meet their fundraising goals and I’m excited to have him join the team of IW experts and our network of mentors and advisors.

Ven is moving to Pittsburgh from Philadelphia with his wife and children. He begins his role with Innovation Works on July 15, 2021.