A prominent figure in investment banking has officially transitioned into the life science world.
Stephen Berenson, former vice chairman of investment banking at J.P. Morgan, is now a newly-minted executive partner at Cambridge, Massachusetts-based venture firm Flagship Pioneering.
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Berenson is a 33-year veteran of J.P. Morgan. According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined the bank in 1984 after completing a mathematics degree at MIT. Over the years, he moved up the ranks and through different geographies, industries, and product divisions.
Of note, Berenson spent close to seven years as cohead of technology investment banking. Then in 2005, he was appointed vice chairman of investment banking, a role he held for just over 12 years.
Joining Flagship is a decisive move. Now in its 17th year, the firm operates quite differently than its peers. It doesn’t just invest; the team helps seed many startups, in part through its VentureLabs hub. For this reason, it refers to itself as a “fully-integrated life science innovation enterprise.”
Once launched, the venture team nurtures its portfolio with a diverse set of expertise — that will soon be bolstered.
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Flagship also has a penchant for backing unknown technologies and ideas that create new fields. In time, some of these become familiar names, such as Editas Medicine, Moderna, and Seres Therapeutics.
That pioneering spirit is part of the reason the company rebranded in late 2016, retiring the name Flagship Ventures.
In a January interview with MedCity News, CEO and Senior Managing Partner Noubar Afeyan said the new moniker was simply catching up with the principles that had been guiding the company in recent years.
“The word pioneering for us is not an adjective, it’s not a compliment, it’s basically a verb,” Afeyan explained. “It is a process, it is kind of consciously looking for value in unexplored places, without regard to the adjacencies, to what is already known to work, which is where everybody else is innovating.”
According to a Flagship statement, Berenson will focus on capital formation and strategic and operational improvements for the fund as a whole, and at the level of the individual portfolio companies (there are currently around 35). He will also be charged with helping the firm’s management teams grow and realize value. He is expected to serve on the boards of directors of select portfolio companies, while also strengthening external partnerships.
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