Brent Ahrens

Brent Ahrens is passionate about investing in cutting edge medical technologies, diagnostics and therapeutic treatments. Since joining Canaan in 1999, Brent has led successful investments in novel medical companies such as Cerexa (FRX), one of the largest private biotech M&As in history; DexCom (DXCM), the largest diagnostic IPO of 2005; Peninsula Pharmaceuticals (JNJ), acquired by a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary; and Revivant (ZOLL), a cutting edge medical device company acquired by Zoll.

Prior to joining Canaan, Brent honed his operational and investing skills at a variety of top tier companies, including General Surgical Innovations, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, and IAP Research, a developer of technologies for defense and industrial applications. During his career, Brent diversified his healthcare experience, working in a variety of sales, marketing, business development and technical roles. His technical expertise as a professional engineer with several patents to his credit is also an invaluable asset to Canaan’s innovation-driven portfolio companies.

Brent currently sits on the boards of CoApt Systems, a revolutionary “soft tissue fixation technology” that enables surgeons to reliably place and shape soft tissue without sutures, pins, or screws during a variety of orthopedic, plastic and reconstructive procedures; CoAxia, a pioneering device company focused on acute stroke treatment; Novare Surgical Systems, maker of RealHand technology, which represents an entirely new category of High Dexterity (HD) instruments for minimally invasive surgery and is first full range of motion hand-held laparoscopic instruments; Pavad Medical, the first device company to develop system-based approach for the treatment of sleep apnea; Relievant Medsystems, maker of minimally invasive devices to relieve chronic back pain; and Transoma Medical, a pioneer and the world’s largest supplier of implantable wireless sensors for medical research.

Brent earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a BS and MS in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton. In 2007, Brent was included on the Forbes Midas List, a prominent list ranking the best dealmakers in technology and life sciences. He is also an alumnus of the prestigious Kauffman Fellows Program, an educational program designed to identify, develop and network future leaders of the global venture capital industry. An avid runner, Brent can also be found tinkering on home carpentry projects when time permits.

Bio [pdf, 488KB]
Print Photo [tif, 4.7MB]
Web Photo [jpg, 108KB]

CALIFORNIA LOCAL TIME: