Better Health, Brighter Future
Takeda Digital Ventures - Our Team
Our experienced team has taken multiple companies through seed to successful exit. We have deep investment and hands on operational expertise backed by a network of Operational Partners and Advisors that you can lean on to help build your company. Takeda Digital Ventures is operated by a lean investment team, leveraging expertise from its operations and support team as well as leaning heavily on colleagues through Takeda to fulfil its mission.
Investment Team | Board of Managers | Operations Team | Support Team
Mr Meadows has been a Partner of several healthcare investment funds since 1999. First working with N M Rothschild and then GBS Ventures in Australia, his career moved to Switzerland in 2005 where he completed his MBA.
Upon completing his MBA, Bruce saw the importance in having operational experience as an investor and so joined Stryker Orthopedics, leading their European thoracolumbar spine business. Here he managed a €20 million brand, helping it grow 20% year on year and launching four products during his tenure. Through a matrix organization he had responsibility for the European group’s sales and marketing activities and influenced the manufacturing and R&D activities. Bruce spent a great deal of his time in the operating room, being as close to the healthcare professional and patient as possible, a value he takes with him in his investing career.
Next Bruce was recruited as a founding Partner of Ares Life Sciences, a €1 billion fund investing in all stages of healthcare companies. Here he was involved in several transactions including the Leveraged Buy Out of Esaote, an Italian medical imaging company developing advanced data analysis and connectivity tools. His next investment role was at MD Start, an incubation stage fund where he was involved in founding several companies including CorWave and LimFlow.
Previous to Takeda Digital Ventures, Bruce was the Senior Investment Director of MTIP, a Swiss based healthcare fund. Here Bruce led the group in its digital health strategy that ultimately led to its investment in Tyto Care Inc and Quanta Dialysis Technologies.
Bruce has been a director of many portfolio companies, leading them through IPOs and trade sales.
In his spare time, Bruce has been a part time Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance at Webster University where was able to give back to the next generation of entrepreneurs and help them be better equipped for success. Bruce has an MBA from IMD in Lausanne (Switzerland) and a First Class Honors Degree in Biotechnology from the University of Queensland (Australia).
Chevon Rariy, MD is a Venture Partner at Takeda Digital Ventures (TDV) where she leads efforts to identify, execute, and manage strategic investments for the venture capital firm. In partnership with TDV and Takeda, she provides leadership in the evolution of virtual care models to enhance differentiating value including supporting TDV portfolio companies and founders within the Venture Studio to transform health and improve lives.
Dr. Rariy has more than 15 years’ experience within the digital health industry. Functioning as a senior executive in various markets including government, academic, private, Fortune 5, to start-up, she brings expertise in building, managing, and scaling successful national digital health innovative platforms and companies for large populations. Within the primary, specialty, and home care space, Dr. Rariy has a proven track record of advising on investment strategies and potential of new product care design at the intersection between care delivery and digital technology while developing partnerships that have demonstrated value to consumers & patients, clinicians, insurance, health systems, and communities including rural and other underrepresented communities.
Prior to joining TDV, Dr. Rariy served as Chief Medical Officer of Clinical Strategy at Care Medical, the clinical care delivery arm for Amazon Care at Amazon, a URAC accredited/HITrust certified, national, virtual first primary care platform providing preventative, urgent, and wellness care. Prior to that, Dr. Rariy led a national Virtual Health care delivery program in specialty care, oncology, chronic disease management, and health & wellness as enterprise Vice President and Chair of Virtual Health for Cancer Treatment Centers of America/City of Hope. She also served as a medical director of endocrinology and in academia as Assistant Clinical Professor where she maintained a clinical practice specializing in endocrine oncology, oncology side effect management, chronic disease management (e.g. diabetes, obesity, hypertension, etc.), prevention, and women’s health.
Dr. Rariy is double board certified in both Internal Medicine and Endocrinology. She is fellowship trained at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), with a medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She is located in the midwestern United States with her husband and sons where they enjoy exploring the beauty of nature.
As a part of the TDV investment team, she will scout the market for opportunities, lead investment activities, and support the TDV portfolio companies. Janine will inaugurate and lead the TDV build arm with a Venture Studio approach, leveraging the unique expertise the TDV team has in platform-enabled ecosystems and virtual first care to build out better patient experiences and improving patient outcomes.
Janine started her career in 2016 at Takeda Switzerland as an Oncology Product manager for ADCETRIS, later moving to the ADCETRIS team for EUCAN. In 2019 she joined TDV as a Venture Associate and was involved in the early development and investments of the fund. In 2020, Janine co-founded a Women's Health company and is now leveraging her entrepreneurial experience for the TDV Venture Studio as well as supporting the founders of TDV's portfolio companies.
Janine enjoys connecting about innovation and entrepreneurship, and the opportunities new care models can bring. She's excited to be involved in brainstorming discussions about new ideas and business models. She is also mentoring a number of aspiring entrepreneurs and is an advocate for Women's Health.
Janine holds a BSc of Pharmaceutical Sciences and MSc of Medicinal and Industrial Pharmaceutical Sciences from ETH Zurich. She is based in Vienna, Austria and enjoys walking in the city with her husband and Corgi puppy Gnocchi.
Laura Pasternak began her career in the consumer-packaged goods industry and transitioned into healthcare in 2007 by joining Takeda (previously Shire) supporting several blockbuster products. Throughout her career, Laura has held various account and project management roles, planned global events, and driven digital communications for Takeda's global employee resource groups. Her most recent role was in the ultra-rare disease space with an emphasis on early diagnosis, healthcare systems, integrated delivery networks, managed care, and specialty pharmacies. Laura successfully increased treatment pathways and shortened the diagnostic journey for patients with Gaucher Disease and Mucopolysaccharidosis II by working alongside account systems, KOLs, and expanding access to therapeutics.
A creative by heart, Laura is also highly experienced in digital design and has written and illustrated three children's books. She has used this skill to create numerous campaigns, sites, newsletters, logos, and products to provide communications and visibility for various groups.
Laura earned her Bachelor of Arts with high honors from Rollins College located in Winter Park, Florida. She now resides in beautiful Sarasota with her two children where they enjoy exploring nature parks and relaxing on the beach.
Gabriele Ricci is the Chief Data and Technology Officer (CDTO) of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. He was appointed to this role in February 2022 and leads the transformation of Takeda’s Data, Digital and Technology division.
Mr. Ricci joined Takeda in 2019 as Head of Plasma-Derived Therapies (PDT) IT, during which he drove initiatives to meet the large and growing demand for plasma-derived products, with highly specialized services that require strategic capacity, innovative business models, dedicated R&D and agile supply allocation on a global scale. Prior to joining Takeda, Mr. Ricci served as Head of Digital Health and Emerging Technology at Shire, where he leveraged new and emerging technologies to optimize internal operations and deliver differentiated patient and customer experiences. Mr. Ricci has also served as Shire’s Head of Technical Operations IT and held leadership positions at Novartis, Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Mr. Ricci brings more than 18 years of information technology and engineering expertise in the life sciences industry and sits on several advisory boards for non-profit organizations focused on digital, life sciences and manufacturing.
Mr. Ricci holds an MBA from the MIB Trieste School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
Meredith is a Partner at Mass General Brigham Ventures where she focuses on early stage investments and company creation. She serves on the board of Amolyt Pharma, ClarisBio, Mediar (where she is also interim CEO), Nocion, Scorpion and ZielBio. She has experience as an investor, founder and operator from her time at Bracebridge Capital, PureTech Health and Gingko Bioworks. In her early career, she was a research scientist first at Anadys (acquired by Roche) and then Idenix (acquired by Merck). Meredith received her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College, her MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and her PhD from Harvard University.
Donald Jones is a globally recognized leader in digital medicine, digital therapies, technology enabled health services and virtual clinic business models. He is a sought out as a speaker, retained advisor and board member. He works across a spectrum of healthcare, pharmaceutical, medical device, wearable, smart apparel, material science and healthcare AI companies. He is an Operating Partner with Takeda Digital Ventures. As Chair of the Cardiff Ocean Group, he is an independent director on the boards of venture capital and private equity backed companies with investors including Searchlight Capital, L'Catterton Partners, Flex, Samsung, Omron, GE and Takeda. His Fortune 1000 Advisory Boards have included Flex, TEVA, JSR, Sanofi, Otsuka, Takeda, Astra Zeneca, Cepheid and MAS Holdings. Don has advised the Boards and executive suites of many of the largest pharmaceutical companies. He has the Verily/Sanofi joint venture, Onduo and advises Huami/PAI, the world’s largest wearables company. He is a Senior Advisor with both McKinsey & Company and the GLG Institute. Jones serves as Chief Digital Officer (Emeritus) of the Scripps Research Translational Institute (SRTI), an Institute within Scripps Research, collaborating with the renowned Eric Topol, MD. He co-founded Scripps Digital Medicine, the world’s first digital health clinical trial center and the non-profit West Health Institute, raising over $130 million.
For 11 years, Don led Qualcomm Wireless Health Global Strategy and Business Development and founded its healthcare subsidiary. In 2005 he founded the Wireless Life Sciences Alliance, merging with HIMSS in 2016 and is now Chairman Emeritus. Earlier in his career, Don was COO of MedTrans, which grew from $4.5 million into the largest emergency services provider in the US (now American Medical Response), with almost 30,000 paramedics. He was Founder and Chairman of EMME, the largest consumer membership healthcare provider (and largest private practice) in Mexico, with over 450 physicians. As advisor to the CEO and Board of AMR, he helped build the largest medical group in the US, under the EmCare brand, with over 25,000 physicians. In 2014, EvoNexus recognized Donald Jones as Digital Health Innovator of the Year. Don conceived the $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, a global competition for a consumer device which successfully makes medical diagnoses. The XPRIZE was awarded in Hollywood in April 2017.
For 11 years, Don led Qualcomm Wireless Health Global Strategy and Business Development and founded its healthcare subsidiary. In 2005 he founded the Wireless Life Sciences Alliance, merging with HIMSS in 2016 and is now Chairman Emeritus. Earlier in his career, Don was COO of MedTrans, which grew from $4.5 million into the largest emergency services provider in the US (now American Medical Response), with almost 30,000 paramedics. He was Founder and Chairman of EMME, the largest consumer membership healthcare provider (and largest private practice) in Mexico, with over 450 physicians. As advisor to the CEO and Board of AMR, he helped build the largest medical group in the US, under the EmCare brand, with over 25,000 physicians. In 2014, EvoNexus recognized Donald Jones as Digital Health Innovator of the Year. Don conceived the $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, a global competition for a consumer device which successfully makes medical diagnoses. The XPRIZE was awarded in Hollywood in April 2017.
Former Stanford physician and White House Advisor, Pat A. Basu, MD, MBA, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global, Inc., which includes the Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) Comprehensive Cancer Care Network of hospitals and outpatient care centers as well as new business ventures designed to expand access to the network’s high-quality oncology care. He also serves as a member of the CTCA National Board of Directors.
Dr. Basu has held numerous senior executive positions in the health care and private equity sectors. He co-founded Doctor on Demand, a pioneering telehealth service and the largest provider of telehealth video visits in the US. He also led several businesses for Optum/UnitedHealth, the largest health care firm in the United States, where he served as Senior Vice President and member of the Executive Leadership Team.
Dr. Basu also served as President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Medical Officer at vRad, a transformative telehealth provider that delivers timely and quality radiology services to millions of patients, and he was a co-founder of Extend MD, a web portal designed to enhance outpatient care, and of STARS Luncheon, a nonprofit that supports the career success of disadvantaged children. He has been a member of the advisory boards of Walgreens, General Electric, CareCredit, the McKinsey & Co. management consultant firm and the American Medical Association and has consulted for several Fortune 500 firms, venture capital firms and large hospital systems. Most recently, he was a partner at Chicago Pacific Founders Private Equity & Pritzker Group Venture Capital.
Outside the corporate realm, Dr. Basu has assumed many community and public service leadership roles. A board-certified radiologist with expertise in treating cancer patients, Dr. Basu continues to provide care to veterans at the Veterans Administration Hospital System. He has served on The Council on Foreign Relations, the United States-Japan Foundation, the Illinois State Board of Health, the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government & Public Affairs and as a Regional Commissioner of the White House Fellows. Today, he sits on the Board of Directors for the University of Illinois and the Stanford University Medical Alumni Association.
Dr. Basu earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois. He later received his medical degree from the University of Chicago, while simultaneously earning a master’s in business administration (MBA) from the university’s Booth School of Business. He then went on to complete the Stanford Business School’s Faculty Leadership Program, teaching Stanford medical and MBA students, among other responsibilities, in his role as Founding Faculty Director of Health Policy and Finance.
Dr. Basu took a leave of absence from Stanford University to serve as a White House Fellow and Senior Advisor, serving at the highest levels of federal government while helping to execute portions of then-President Obama’s economic and health agenda.
Dr. Basu is a recipient of the American Medical Association’s National Excellence Award for Leadership, the Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40 Award, Stanford Medicine’s Physician of the Year Award, University of Illinois Distinguished Alumni Award and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’ Distinguished Alumni Award. He has delivered keynote addresses at over 150 corporations, universities, governments and professional societies and has provided expert commentary and opinion numerous times on CBS, NBC, WGN, NPR and other national networks.
Dave Icke is the Vice President of Humana Digital Health and Analytics (DH&A) Products. He is responsible for co-creating the company’s virtual care strategy with its various lines of business and working alongside the industry’s digital health ecosystem to forge partnerships with organizations on the leading-edge of technology and innovation. This includes developing and iterating human-centered products on the DH&A platform to enable differentiated health care experiences in support of the organization’s integrated care delivery model.
For more than 20 years, Dave’s career has been focused on growing and scaling businesses that solve industry challenges with breakthrough technology. Prior to joining Humana, he served as the Vice President and General Manager of Digital Health at medical technology leader Becton Dickinson. In this role, Dave started a business unit focused on developing consumer-centric software solutions for chronic disease patients outside the hospital. In addition, Dave served as the founding Chief Executive Officer of MC10, a leading supplier of wearable, biometric sensing solutions for sports, medical technology and digital health.
Dave has also advised a range of private and public companies across the digital health space including Hatch@Takeda, Profusa, Flex, Qualcomm Life and Twine Health.
He earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School.
Dave enjoys skiing, hiking and international travel.
Anja Barmoha, Business Analyst joined Takeda headquarters in Zurich in November 2016. Anja has built her international career in administration. She has lived in Sweden, Israel and USA. Prior to Takeda Anja has worked 6 years at Bombardier Transportation in Sweden in the field of administration supporting the production and engineering departments. Anja also has many years of experience from New York in the field of advertising and marketing.
Born in Sweden, Anja went to Pace University in New York City and received her Bachelor’s degree of Business Administration in International Marketing. Anja is trilingual and speaks English, Swedish and German. Outside of work Anja enjoys running, bicycling, skiing and travelling. Anja lives in Zurich with her husband and two boys.
Héctor Röthlisberger is a lawyer by profession and joined Takeda in December 2012, he is based in Zurich, Switzerland. Prior to Takeda, Héctor advised Actelion Pharmaceuticals (a Johnson & Johnson company) in Basel, Switzerland, where he served as a legal advisor in R&D, litigations and regulatory matters. In 2018, Héctor joined Takeda Digital Ventures and assisted in the establishment of the corporate venture capital fund. His responsibilities include strategic and legal advising of Takeda Digital Ventures on all corporate matters, venture capital financing transactions, governance, strategic partnerships, and commercial agreements. Héctor leads a team of lawyers at Takeda who are devoted to the commercialization of the Takeda product pipeline across Europe, Canada and Emerging Markets, and who are offering legal services to maximize Takeda’s product franchises, with expertise in regulatory, commercial, public and global health, and with special focus on digital health and emerging technologies. Héctor holds a law degree from the University of Basel, with extra faculty credits in political economics and applied social studies, and is fluent in English, German, Spanish and French.