NEA Promotes Tiffany Le and Jess Ou to Principal

Firm Also Elevates Zak Burns, Henry Magun, Alex Sharata, and Emily Zhen to Senior Associate Roles

MENLO PARK, Calif. , June 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) today announced the promotions of Jess Ou and Tiffany Le to Principal. Ou joined NEA's technology team in 2018 and focuses on enterprise and consumer investments. Le, who joined the firm's healthcare team in 2020, invests in life sciences, with a focus in medtech and healthtech. Additionally, NEA promoted Zak Burns, Henry Magun, Alex Sharata and Emily Zhen to Senior Associate.  

"We are thrilled to recognize the contributions Jess, Zak, Henry, and Alex have made to NEA's technology investing practice and the strong relationships each has built across our portfolio and the broader ecosystem," said Tony Florence, Managing General Partner, Technology, NEA. "In addition to demonstrating the resourcefulness, tenacity, and dedication needed to source new investments and provide exceptional support to our portfolio, each of these talented investors has shown a deep commitment to NEA's values of trust, teamwork and excellence."

• Jess Ou works closely with numerous technology companies across NEA's portfolio, including Arris Composites, Drop, Embrace, Gen.G, Goodleap, New Wave Foods, Outrider, Smartcar, Tulip, Workera, and others. Ou has also played an integral role in developing NEA's investment theses within fintech and enterprise software. Prior to joining NEA, she was a member of the Global Technology investment banking group at Morgan Stanley, where she was part of the team that took Smartsheet and Pivotal Software public. Ou has degrees in Business Administration and Social Welfare from UC Berkeley.
• Zak Burns, the first "virtual" hire to join NEA's team during the COVID-19 pandemic, works with companies across the firm's consumer and enterprise practices including Conta, Fightcamp, Narmi, Pair, and Patreon. He is also involved with Connect Ventures, an investing partnership between NEA and Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Burns previously worked at The Raine Group and is a graduate of Columbia University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science.
• Henry Magun joined NEA in 2018 and focuses on enterprise and consumer investments. He works closely with Aigen, Attest, Glacier, GRID, and PixieBricks, among others. Magun began his career at climate-tech focused startup, Nebia, and holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.
• Alex Sharata is focused on enterprise, fintech, and consumer companies. Sharata has played an integral role in developing NEA's investment theses within web3 and crypto. He is involved with NEA's investments in Block Renovation, Clockwork, Datafold, ForAllSecure, FTX, Merge, MoonPay, Plaid, SeMI Technologies, and Spokn, among others. Before joining NEA, Sharata was an investor at Vista Equity Partners focused on enterprise software, and he previously co-founded mobile app security company Fractal Technology (acquired by Sunayu). Sharata graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in Computer Science and Economics

"The depth and breadth of our team has always been NEA's most important asset, and developing our rising talent is a top priority across our investing practices," said Mohamad Makhzoumi, Managing General Partner, Healthcare, NEA. "We are proud to recognize the commitment Tiffany and Emily have made to creating value for NEA's portfolio, advancing healthcare innovation, and ultimately improving patient outcomes; we look forward to the contributions both will make in their new roles."

• Tiffany Le invests across the life sciences spectrum and works closely with companies across the firm's medtech and healthtech portfolios including Allay Therapeutics, Lungpacer, Relievant, Revelle, Setpoint, and Willow. Prior to NEA, Le was part of the investment team at Kaiser Permanente Ventures. She holds a degree in Business Economic Theory from UCLA and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
• Emily Zhen joined NEA in 2020 and focuses on NEA's digital health and life sciences investments. She serves as a board observer for Senti Bio, Slope, and Spiras Health, and works closely with ChromaCode, Curana Health, Strive Health, Vori Health, and Waymark, among others. Prior to NEA, Emily worked in healthcare investment banking at Goldman Sachs in New York. Emily graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Biology, a B.S. in Finance from Wharton, and a certificate in health policy.

New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With nearly $24 billion in cumulative committed capital since the firm's founding in 1977, NEA invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company's lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm's track record of investing includes more than 260 portfolio company IPOs and more than 440 mergers and acquisitions. www.nea.com

SOURCE New Enterprise Associates, Inc.