Wende Hutton

Seasoned healthcare investor Wende Hutton is passionate about identifying, investing in and building companies that are revolutionizing the practice of medicine. She joined Canaan in 2004, bringing diverse expertise from across the entire medical spectrum. Over the last 15 years, Wende has facilitated the market entrance of over 11 novel and lifesaving medical devices, new drugs and diagnostics. Her track record is a testament to her leadership and includes the initial public offerings of five companies, of which two were later acquired, and the acquisition of three more by medical companies. Wende began her venture career at Mayfield Fund in 1993, where she was a General Partner in the life sciences group until 2001. During her tenure at Mayfield, Wende incubated Heartstream Inc. (HPQ) and Northstar Neuroscience Inc. (NSTR), working closely with those founding teams. Most recently, she was a General Partner at Spring Ridge Ventures, a healthcare-focused seed fund. Earlier in her career, Wende held senior operational management positions at GenPharm International and Nellcor in business development and marketing.

Wende sits on the boards of Alsius Corp (Nasdaq: ALUS), Apieron Inc., BiPar Sciences, Inc., Northstar Neuroscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: NSTR), ReVision Optics, Inc. and Spaltudaq Corp. Her previous board seats include Heartstream, Inc. (acquired by Hewlett Packard), Micro Therapeutics, Inc. (acquired by ev3, Inc.), Orquest, Inc. (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), and SenoRx, Inc. (NASDAQ: SENO).

Wende holds an AB in human biology from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar. She is an active member of several community service groups, including serving as task-force leader on obesity for the Santa Clara and Mid-Peninsula YMCAs. Beyond her community service involvements, Wende’s first love is a field biology hike or lecture. 

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