Redefining Partnerships.

Senator Bill Frist is a leading authority on healthcare and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. As Co-founder and Managing Partner at FCV, he resides on the fund’s Investment Committee and is responsible for acquisition, divestitures and providing unique value to the fund’s partnerships.

Senator Frist served two terms as a United States Senator representing Tennessee, serving as Majority Leader from 2003 until his retirement in 2007. His leadership was instrumental in the passage of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act and the historic PEPFAR legislation that provided life-saving treatment globally to over 20 million people. Prior to the Senate, he founded the Vanderbilt Multi-Organ Transplant Center and has performed more than 150 heart and lung transplant procedures. His current board service includes Select Medical (NYSE: SEM), AECOM (NYSE: ACM), Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC), Aegis Sciences, Accolade, Devoted Health, OneOncology, Kaiser Family Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

Senator Frist received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and holds a B.A. from Princeton University.

To view Senator Frist’s insights on healthcare policy and innovation, visit the FCV Policy Perspectives page.

Bryan Cressey is a pioneer in the field of private equity investing and co-founder of three of the largest private equity firms in the US. He has managed billions of dollars of private capital, spent his career investing in healthcare, is a co-founder of FCV and serves as a Senior Advisor to the firm.

He is an acknowledged expert in healthcare, where he has invested over 30 years, and his firms are well known for their consistently strong investment returns. He has been featured in Time Magazine and Fortune Magazine and is asked to speak nationwide on healthcare and private equity investing. He served as Chairman of an NYSE company, Belden, and is a Director of several others, and has been elected to Chicago’s Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame and Chicago’s Business Hall of Fame. Bryan recently created an addiction treatment center called Above and Beyond, on Chicago’s Westside, providing life transformation opportunities, free to the homeless and poor.

He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Washington, Phi Beta Kappa.

Navid is a Managing Partner with Frist Cressey Ventures. Before joining FCV in 2019, he served as a partner with Morgan Noble Healthcare Partners, a Washington, D.C. based firm investing in companies determined to transform the delivery of healthcare.  Prior to Morgan Noble, he was with Enhanced Healthcare Partners, a healthcare-focused private equity firm based in New York, as well as Lehman Brothers in the health care investment banking division, Ernst & Young’s Transaction Advisory group and Arthur Andersen’s health care practice.

Currently, Navid serves as a director or observer on the boards of the Nashville Health Care Council, Bicycle Health, Carta Healthcare, Dexcare, Lynx, Memora Health, Oshi Health, Psych Hub, RightMove, Spectrum AI, Thrive Mobile, Vim and Visana.  He also serves on the advisory board of The Hilltop Institute, a research and data analytics organization dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of communities. In recognition for his exceptional work in pushing innovation toward better healthcare for all, Navid was named as a 2022 Top 50 in Digital Health honoree by Rock Health.

Navid holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BA from Loyola University in Maryland.

Olivia Capra joined FCV in 2022 as Principal. Prior to FCV, Olivia was an investor at Kaiser Permanente Ventures and Convey Capital, and was active on the boards of Ginger [now Headspace Health], Everytable, Intelycare and Protenus. Previously, Olivia led early commercial operations and growth strategy for Macro Trials and Cornerstone AI, two healthcare technology companies in the Initiate Venture Studio portfolio. Olivia started her career as an Equity Research Analyst at Barclays covering the specialty pharmaceutical sector for six years. She is a Co-Founder of The Grind, a national organization for women & nonbinary founders, operators, and investors in healthcare innovation.

Olivia graduated from the London School of Economics with a BSc Honors in Economics and Social Policy. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Mark Tipps joined FCV in 2023 and serves as Partner and COO. Previously, he served as partner at Bass, Berry & Sims and managing partner at Walker, Tipps & Malone. He was Senator Bill Frist’s first chief of staff in Washington, DC, helping the Senator build and manage his Washington team and navigate the DC policy and political waters. Later, he served in 1997 as deputy chief counsel to U.S. Senator Fred Thompson in the nationally televised “Chinagate” hearings, which investigated the flow of foreign money into the 1996 Presidential election. Mark managed a team of over 50 attorneys, investigators and FBI agents. Mr. Tipps was also the national campaign manager for U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander’s 2000 presidential run.

Building on his multi-faceted experience in creating and directing large teams and managing organizations, Mark has also advised senior management of major corporations, including Honeywell, Dow Chemical and St. Paul/Travelers on legal and governmental matters.

More recently, Mark stepped away from law and business for a few years to serve as Associate Head of School, Athletics Director, and a faculty member at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, where he also coached football and baseball.

Mark holds a B.A. in accounting/finance from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota and a J.D. degree from The University of Tennessee College of Law. In his free time, Mark enjoys all sports and likes to run, ski, read, and spend time with his grandsons. He has also coached youth baseball for over 30 years.

To view Mark’s insights on healthcare policy and innovation, visit the FCV Policy Perspectives page.

Matt Schappell joined Frist Cressey Ventures in 2019 and serves as Principal. He is involved with investment origination and execution as well as post-close value creation for the Firm’s partnerships. Prior to FCV, Matt worked in Investment Banking for the Healthcare Technology Group at Ziegler in Chicago. Before Ziegler, he held a Business Development position at a subsidiary hospital of Universal Health Services (UHS).

Matt graduated from Wheaton College (IL) with a B.A. in Business and Economics and a concentration in Applied Health Sciences. When he’s not meeting with founders, Matt can be found on a donut date with his two kids or trying Nashville’s newest restaurant with his wife. Every so often, you may find him on a golf course – though his swing suggests it’s not nearly often enough.

CONTACT Matt Schappell

Derek Dedeker joined Frist Cressey Ventures in 2022 and serves as Principal. He is involved with investment origination and execution as well as post-close value creation for the Firm’s partnerships. Prior to FCV, Mr. Dedeker spent 4 years at Santé Ventures, an early-stage healthcare venture capital firm based in Austin. Prior to Santé, he worked as an Investment Banking Senior Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group at Citi in New York City, where he worked on a variety of M&A and equity transactions.

Mr. Dedeker graduated from Texas Christian University (TCU) with a B.B.A. in Finance.

CONTACT Derek Dedeker

William Trapnell joined Frist Cressey Ventures in 2021 and is involved with investment origination and execution as well as post-close value creation for the Firm’s partnerships. Prior to FCV, Mr. Trapnell worked as an Investment Banking Senior Analyst in the Healthcare Group at Citi in New York City, where he worked on a variety of M&A and equity transactions.

Mr. Trapnell graduated from the University of Tennessee with a B.S. in Accounting with a concentration in International Business.

CONTACT WILLIAM TRAPNELL

Lydia Witty joined FCV in 2023 as a member of the Investment Team. She is involved with investment origination and execution, as well as post-close value creation for the firm’s partnerships. Prior to FCV, Ms. Witty worked in healthcare consulting for AArete in Chicago, partnering with payors and providers across the nation to help solve their greatest challenges.

A Nashville native, Ms. Witty graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Medicine, Health, and Society (MHS), with a concentration in Healthcare Economics.

CONTACT Lydia Witty

Tommaso Auerbach joined Frist Cressey Ventures in 2023 as a member of the Investment Team. He is involved with investment origination and execution as well as post-close value creation for the firm’s partnerships. Prior to FCV, Tommaso worked at Oxeon, a healthcare-focused multi-strategy platform where he focused on early-stage investments, new company creation, and executive search.

Tommaso graduated with a B.A from New York University’s school of Global Liberal Studies with a concentration in Finance & Business Studies. He is fascinated by teams building at the intersection of AI and human health – whether that’s care delivery, medical devices, or life sciences. He gets excited working with technical founders who want to build generational businesses and need a partner to navigate healthcare’s commercial and regulatory complexity. He loves to partner with risk-takers who want to change the world by doing the impossible.

His first job was on a farm – he’s always plotting his return with plans to develop his own fruit varieties. He also enjoys puzzling and reading about emerging technology and biology.

CONTACT Tommaso Auerbach

Caroline Young joined Frist Cressey Ventures in 2021. Ms. Young focuses on accelerating value for FCV’s partnerships and enhancing relationships with our industry-wide stakeholders.

Prior to FCV, Ms. Young partnered with Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to launch NashvilleHealth, a first-of-a-kind initiative to reduce disparities and drive community-level health improvement. Prior to that role, Caroline led one of the nation’s premier health care industry associations, the Nashville Health Care Council, where she cultivated a national network of executives in support of industry leadership and innovation.

Ms. Young currently serves on the board of Cumberland Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CPIX). She is also a member of the Father Ryan High School Board of Trust and a member of Washington, DC-based Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Healthcare Industry (WBL).  She holds an MS from the University of Tennessee and a BA from the University of Mississippi.

Chloe Coulter joined Frist Cressey Ventures in 2023 as a Senior Associate on the Partnership Development team. Prior to FCV, Ms. Coulter worked in consulting across many diverse industries and verticals. She started out her career in Washington, DC at Deloitte, specializing in Human Capital consulting, primarily serving clients in the Government and Public Sector. She transitioned to strategy and innovation consulting at Innovator’s DNA, where her focus was on running startup accelerators for project teams at Fortune 500 companies spanning various sectors. In addition to consulting, she also led their sales and engagement operations.

Ms. Coulter graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in Economics.

CONTACT Chloe Coulter

Jamie Kuntz joined FCV in 2023. In her role on the Partnership Development team she is responsible for FCV’s communications, digital media, and portfolio company marketing support.

Prior to FCV, Jamie supported faculty, staff, and graduate students as a Program Coordinator at the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. She also spent seven years in education, teaching English Literature to grades 8 – 12 in both Tennessee and Texas.

Jamie holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Dallas, and an M.A. in English Literature (with a focus on Irish Literature) from Texas Christian University. In her free time, Jamie enjoys playing with her dog Evie (who frequently visits the FCV office), browsing indie bookstores, and working in her pottery studio.

CONTACT Jamie Kuntz

Zeena Johar joined Frist Cressey Ventures as an Entrepreneur in Residence to further her passion of serving vulnerable populations on Medicaid by leveraging innovative technology enabled solutions.

Previously, Zeena was with Rubicon Founders where she Co-Founded Imagine Pediatrics (IP) along with Oak HC/FT and Optum Ventures. IP as a pediatric value-based care company, works to support the sickest-of-sick kids, by providing them 24*7 virtual and in-person support.  Before joining Rubicon, Zeena led operations at Advantia Health. Advantia is now one of the largest women’s health roll-ups with 50 offices and more than 200 Obstetrics & Gynecology providers. Before joining Advantia Health, Zeena worked in health policy with Dr. Mark McClellan (previous FDA Commissioner & CMS Administrator).

In 2007, Zeena Co-Founded SughaVazhvu Healthcare (SVHC) along with Dr. Nachiket Mor in India, a first-of-its-kind technology enabled primary care platform to support disease management for chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.

Zeena received her PhD in Molecular Diagnostics from ETH, Zurich, Switzerland. Zeena is a Harvard Business School alum (Executive MBA) and was elected as an Ashoka Fellow in 2013, Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) Fellow 2014, as one of Asia’s 100 Pioneers by Purpose Economy in 2014 and Yale World Fellow 2015.

Zach Johnson joined Frist Cressey Ventures in 2021 and is involved with accounting and financial reporting as well as compliance and administrative operations. Prior to joining Frist Cressey Ventures, Mr. Johnson worked as a tax manager with RSM US LLP in their Chicago and Nashville offices, specializing in tax consulting and compliance for funds holding a variety of assets.

Mr. Johnson graduated from Marquette University with a B.S. in Accounting and Finance. Mr. Johnson is a Certified Public Accountant holding an active license in Tennessee. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Tennessee Society of CPAs.

CONTACT Zach Johnson

Traci Few joined Frist Cressey Ventures in 2021 and serves as Manager of Personnel and Operations, providing executive support to the Firm and Partners. Prior to FCV, Traci supported key executives in the healthcare, commercial real estate and legal industries, most recently with HCA and Parallon. She additionally managed and marketed charitable campaigns for the organizations.

A native Nashvillian, she attended Lipscomb University.

CONTACT Traci Few