Health and Sustainability Innovator Greg Horn Joins Flagship Ventures

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--()--Flagship Ventures, a leading venture capital and venture creation firm focused on healthcare and sustainability, today announced the appointment of Greg Horn as a Venture Partner. Mr. Horn will support Flagship’s portfolio companies across the firm’s two synergistic units: VentureLabs, which invents and launches transformative companies, and Venture Capital, which finances and realizes innovative, early-stage companies.

“Greg has over two decades of experience developing and managing innovative companies focused on personal health, nutrition and environmental sustainability,” said Noubar Afeyan, managing partner and chief executive officer of Flagship Ventures. “His previous corporate and entrepreneurial success will be a valuable asset in helping to lead Flagship’s portfolio companies on the path to commercialization.”

In addition to his role of Venture Partner, Mr. Horn also joined the board of AeroDesigns, a Flagship portfolio company pioneering air-based delivery systems to reimagine the consumption of food, nutrients and medications.

“I was drawn to Flagship Ventures because of the firm’s sterling reputation and its differentiated approach to creating and realizing entrepreneurial innovation across the sustainability and nutrition industries,” said Greg Horn. “The VentureLabs platform is a unique way to foster innovation by creating companies that specifically address an unmet health need, or provide a solution to one of the world’s most difficult sustainability challenges. I look forward to contributing to and building on the team’s success.”

Previously, Mr. Horn served as the chief executive officer of General Nutrition Centers (GNC), the world’s largest health and nutrition retailer where he was instrumental in building the GNC brand and in expanding the company from $400 million to $1.5 billion in revenue over his 11 years in management. When GNC was acquired in 1999 by Royal Numico, he became Chairman of Royal Numico’s North American Executive Committee, overseeing all the company’s $2.5 billion specialty retail, mass market, and direct selling operations in North America. Additionally, Mr. Horn served as chief executive officer of Garden of Life, an innovative organic food and nutrition supplements company.

As a nutrition entrepreneur, Mr. Horn has co-founded several nutrition and healthy living companies including Brand New Brands, a functional food and beverage brand incubator, and Celsius, one of the first functional beverages with clinical studies proving efficacy. He is also a well-known speaker on living well and sustainable business and the author of the best-seller “Living Green, A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability” (Freedom Press, 2006), and co-author of “The Meaning of Light” (Lighthouse Press, 2011). He is co-founder of Eco Shoppe, offering simple solutions for living green, and several web-based businesses offering sustainability products and information.

About Flagship Ventures

Realizing entrepreneurial innovation is the mission of Flagship Ventures. The firm operates through two synergistic units: VentureLabs which invents and launches transformative companies, and Venture Capital, which finances and realizes innovative, early-stage companies. Founded in 2000, and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Flagship Ventures manages over $900 million in capital. The Flagship team innovates and invests in three principal business sectors: therapeutics, medical technologies and sustainability/clean technology. Several examples of successful portfolio ventures include, Acceleron Pharma, Agios, Accuri Cytometers, AVEO, Morphotek, Adnexus, and Joule Unlimited. For more information, visit www.flagshipventures.com.

Contacts

For Flagship Ventures:
Schwartz MSL
Benjamin Navon/Kathy Vigneault, 781-684-0770
flagship@schwartzmsl.com

Release Summary

Flagship Ventures, a leading venture capital and venture creation firm focused on healthcare and sustainability, today announced the appointment of Greg Horn as a Venture Partner.

Contacts

For Flagship Ventures:
Schwartz MSL
Benjamin Navon/Kathy Vigneault, 781-684-0770
flagship@schwartzmsl.com