Nurx Appoints Varsha Rao as CEO

Former Airbnb and Clover Health executive brings decades of experience to the mission-driven telemedicine company

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Apr 17, 2019, 07:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, April 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Nurx, the all-in-one healthcare company offering online access to medical providers and seamless home delivery of medication and testing kits, announced today that Varsha Rao has been appointed the company's new CEO.

Rao is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive, bringing decades of experience rapidly scaling startups and established companies like Airbnb. Rao has a particular interest in mission-driven companies that are able to balance growth and expansion with a strong commitment to company culture. Rao most recently served as COO of Clover Health where she brought operational leadership to the health insurance startup. Prior to Clover Health, Rao served as Airbnb's Head of Global Operations, managing the company's market expansion and host growth around the world. Rao also oversaw the Customer Experience and Trust & Safety teams at Airbnb, retaining Airbnb's commitment to culture while scaling these teams as revenue grew from $200 million to $2 billion.

"I have long been inspired by the countless stories from the Nurx community who have turned to us when they didn't have any other options," said Rao. "People are incredibly passionate about our ability to bring them affordable and high-quality access to health care, and it's great to join both the best and leading company in the space. I'm excited to hit the ground running and continue scaling Nurx's growth, leveraging innovative solutions to provide more types of essential healthcare services to those whose needs aren't being met."

Rao joined Nurx earlier this year as an advisor and is also an early investor in the company. She will be focused on continuing Nurx's rapid growth, introducing new healthcare services, expanding its owned-and-operated pharmacy operations, launching in new states, and growing its patient community. Today Nurx is available in 24 states and the District of Columbia, encompassing nearly 80 percent of the U.S. population. In addition to providing care to over 200,000 people with 65% retention year over year, Nurx is the leader in its space and maintains a consistent NPS score of 90.

In addition to Rao's appointment, Nurx has recently made several new additions to its leadership team, including COO Jonathan Czaja, VP of Pharmacy Dave Fong, VP of Marketing Katelyn Watson, and Senior VP of Legal Lina Brenner. Within the last year the company raised $36 million in Series B funding, with Kleiner Perkins as the lead investor, and also welcomed public health leader Chelsea Clinton and Former U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA to its board of directors.

Rao succeeds Hans Gangeskar, who co-founded Nurx with Dr. Edvard Engesæth in 2015. Today Nurx offers access to birth control, the HIV prevention medication PrEP, home testing for PrEP, and home HPV testing. Nurx has grown to be the leading online provider of PrEP, offering essential and life-saving medication to those who otherwise wouldn't have access. The company plans to offer additional primary care services in the near future.

"As an early investor and advisor, Varsha has already made an incredible contribution to Nurx and I can't think of anyone better to take this company to the next level," said Gangeskar. "I'm so excited and confident in her ability to take Nurx to the next chapter and make our vision of affordable, accessible healthcare a reality."

"We are incredibly appreciative of Hans' vision and efforts over the last three years, building a new kind of consumer healthcare company that has been able to balance rapid growth and efficiency with safe and compassionate care," said Nurx board member and General Partner at Kleiner Perkins Noah Knauf. "Varsha has a strong foundation to leverage as she brings her wealth of experience to help Nurx continue to grow and scale."

Rao also held executive roles at Living Social and oldnavy.com, and served as CEO of Singapore-based SingTel Digital Media. Rao was also the co-founder and co-CEO of eve.com, an online cosmetics company that she grew to 125 employees, raised $25 million in venture funding and later sold for $110 million. Rao holds a B.S. in Economics and B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania, and earned her MBA at Harvard Business School.

About Nurx
Nurx is an all-in-one healthcare company that offers easy online access to medical providers and seamless home delivery of medications and testing kits. By leveraging a telemedicine platform, network of medical providers, and owned-and-operated pharmacy, Nurx is able to achieve public health outcomes that aren't attainable through the traditional healthcare system. We're committed to empowering people to take charge of their healthcare decisions and we believe everyone should have the freedom to live well, regardless of circumstances. From diagnosis to delivery, we make every part of getting healthy and staying healthy, better.

SOURCE Nurx