NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced three key leadership promotions in the healthcare investing sector. Ram Jagannath will serve in a newly created role of Global Head of Healthcare Investing – overseeing this area across Blackstone’s Private Equity, Tactical Opportunities and Growth businesses. Anushka Sunder will lead healthcare investing for Blackstone Private Equity, and Mike Kirkman will lead healthcare investing for Blackstone Growth.
Jon Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone, said: “Blackstone’s scale and shared intellectual capital across our businesses have been key competitive advantages for our healthcare franchise. Ram, Anushka and Mike are world-class investing professionals with deep sector expertise – and having them step into these new positions will help us further integrate those efforts.”
Ram Jagannath said: “I’m excited to take on this expanded role as we continue to invest in companies working to improve patient outcomes and strengthen the healthcare delivery system. The breadth of Blackstone and insights we can leverage – including from our leading Life Sciences business – has helped make us an attractive partner to our investors and the businesses we back. I look forward to working with Anushka, Mike and the entire Blackstone team to further build on those efforts in the years ahead.”
Anushka Sunder said: “Healthcare is one of the most active investment areas in our Private Equity business given the growth and innovation in life sciences R&D, technology adoption and care delivery to consumers. I am excited to continue working with founders and management teams to further invest in and scale their businesses, and to expand their scope and strategic importance in an ever-more-interconnected healthcare ecosystem.”
Mike Kirkman said: “Blackstone has established itself as a leading partner for healthcare entrepreneurs and innovators, and I’m honored to take on this role and continue expanding on those efforts moving forward.”
Ram Jagannath previously served as head of Healthcare for Blackstone Growth and Tactical Opportunities. Since joining Blackstone in 2019, he has led Blackstone’s investments in HealthEdge, Burgess Group, Bright Health (NYSE: BHG), Cryoport (NASDAQ: CYRX), ZO Skin Health, Altruista Health, Ginger, Hydrogen Health, Wellframe, Medable and Life Science Logistics, and was involved in Blackstone’s investment in Alnylam/inclisiran royalty (NASDAQ: ALNY). Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Jagannath was a Founding Partner of Navab Capital Partners (NCP) and a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group – where he focused on healthcare investing. Mr. Jagannath received a BSE in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering with a minor in Economics from Duke University, a J.D. from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and an MBA. from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. In 2021, he was recognized in Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare and GrowthCap’s Top 25 Healthcare Investors.
Anushka Sunder is a Senior Managing Director in Blackstone’s Private Equity group. Since joining the firm in 2013, she has led a number of the business’ most significant healthcare transactions – most recently Medline, Precision Medicine Group and HealthEdge. Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Sunder was an Associate at TPG Capital and an Analyst at Goldman Sachs in the Financial Institutions Group. Ms. Sunder received an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Mike Kirkman is a Managing Director in Blackstone Growth. Since joining the firm in 2021, he has helped lead Blackstone Growth’s investment in Medable, in addition to a variety of other deal pursuits. Before Blackstone, Mr. Kirkman was a Director at GI Partners, a private equity firm based in San Francisco, where he focused on the healthcare and software sectors. Prior to joining GI Partners, Mr. Kirkman was with JLL Partners in New York where he focused on private equity investments in North America. He received a B.S. from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $881 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
