VentureDNA Names Cavendish Global's Tom McKenzie and Ian Kenyon as Newest Leadership to Join Firm

McKenzie joins the firm as the newest Managing Partner and Kenyon as the firm's first COO

CHICAGO, Nov. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global alternative investment firm VentureDNA today announced that it has welcomed Tom McKenzie as the newest Managing Partner, together with Ian Kenyon joining in the newly-created role of Chief Operating Officer, working together with Founder and Managing Partner Stewart Dixon.

McKenzie and Kenyon are longtime executives with Cavendish Global, a family office-founded network of single and multi-family offices, private equity, venture capital and independent private investors. Since 2014, Cavendish has provided its investors with access to a highly curated selection of early-stage investment opportunities in health and life sciences, and education. Cavendish has hosted over forty investor forums, under the auspices of organizations including the United Nations, University of Oxford, Rockefeller University, UCSD, UCSF, the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, University of Washington, Intellectual Ventures and the Cleveland Clinic, among notable institutions. The Cavendish platform expanded throughout the last decade to include a sister nonprofit leveraging donor-advised funds, the Catalytic Impact Foundation, and a traditional venture fund, Growing Impact Ventures.

Stewart Dixon commented: "Tom and Ian have extensive experience in building world-class enterprise and community, and bring to VentureDNA a distinguished skill set. We will look to them to help us continue to scale our own function, usher in a new network of investors and opportunities and bring an even greater focus on identifying, fostering and supporting the parts of our business that sets us apart - a dynamic network of investor relationships and the methodologies to deliver unparalleled access to quality opportunities."

McKenzie and Kenyon join VentureDNA at a time of growth for the nearly two-decade old firm, which is underway in expanding its management team and developing an entirely new advisory board focusing on providing clients with deeper diligence and partnership, and advisors with a greater 'first look' at innovative opportunities. The firm, headquartered in Lake Forest, Ill. and Los Angeles, has expanded to include a team presence in the New York, South Florida, Denver and Phoenix markets.

"We've spent the last decade building relationships with investors from around the world and identifying truly groundbreaking work - it has been great to work in such proximity to such impact and joining together with VentureDNA takes our work to the next level," McKenzie said.

Kenyon added: "I am thrilled to be stepping into this role at a time of significant growth, and how the combined VentureDNA and Cavendish opportunity will offer our clients - often overlooked by larger funds and the institutional markets - a full-service platform of advisory, development and sponsorship on their path to the market."

VentureDNA is a sought-after principal investor and independent investment advisor in early and growth-stage companies and in addition its expansion into health and life sciences and education, works with companies across media technology, cleantech, fintech, consumer brands and real estate.

ABOUT VENTUREDNA

Founded in 2004, VentureDNA is a Chicago-based principal investor and independent investment sponsor in early and growth-stage companies. The firm typically participates as the lead investor in their portfolio of companies, while advising and mentoring entrepreneurial teams. The VentureDNA portfolio includes mobile, cloud, SaaS, social, AI, big data, consumer brands and healthcare technology businesses. VentureDNA's rich history in product development, brand strategy and management consulting, augmented by board participation and portfolio management expertise, creates special partnerships with these emerging companies. The firm reviews approximately 150 opportunities per year and typically engages in 5 to 10 projects. For more information, please visit www.venturedna.com or follow VentureDNA on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venturedna/

Media and Investor Contact
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SOURCE Christine Haas Media