The rest of the 100 (in alphabetical order): Erik Iverson, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
Tackling a perceived aversion to risk at University of Wisconsin-Madison has been one of the most important of Erik Iverson’s achievements since becoming director of tech transfer organisation Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (Warf) in 2016.
Iverson, whose background involves periods at the Infectious Disease Research Institute and philanthropic organisation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program, took action in 2017 to double the funding available to startups at the university and has guided Warf to engage in greater levels of collaboration with other institutions – both educational and governmental – in the state.
Subsequently, Warf has received approval from trustees for a $10m seed fund and a $50m fund for follow-on investments. The organisation has been a particularly active investor in businesses in the pharma sector recently. Warf participated, for example, in a $15m series B round for HealthMyne, a medical informatics software developer, in August this year.
