H.I.G. Capital Expands BioHealth Team with Addition of Gwen Watanabe

Watanabe brings deep experience in healthcare and medical devices

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#BoardMember--H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global alternative investment firm with over $47 billion of equity capital under management, is pleased to announce that Gwen Watanabe has joined the firm’s dedicated life-science investment affiliate, H.I.G. BioHealth Partners, as a Managing Director.

Gwen has more than 28 years as an investor, entrepreneur, executive and board member in the medical device industry. Most recently, Gwen was the Vice President and General Manager for Smith & Nephew’s U.S. Robotics business unit. Prior to that, Gwen served as the Corporate Vice President of Global Corporate Development, Strategy and Strategic Relationships at Teleflex. Gwen joined Teleflex as a result of its acquisition of Hotspur Technologies, a company that Gwen co-founded and where she served as President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to this, she also served as a cofounding team member at Nellix Endovascular, Bacchus Vascular and AneuRx, all three of which were medical device start-up companies acquired by larger strategic players. In addition, Gwen has been a general partner of several private equity entities.

Gwen holds an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School. She also holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For over fifteen years, H.I.G. BioHealth Partners has invested broadly across healthcare sectors, including medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, pharmaceutical services and digital health. Medical device investments include industry leaders such as Intact Vascular (acquired by Philips), Vertiflex (acquired by Boston Scientific), Neuwave Medical (acquired by J&J) and Hyperbranch Medical (acquired by Stryker).

“H.I.G. has a long and successful track record in healthcare investing,” said H.I.G. BioHealth Partners Co-Head Bruce Robertson. “Adding Gwen to the H.I.G. BioHealth team marks another important step in the growth of our platform and H.I.G.’s commitment to being a value-added investor in healthcare.”

“I’m thrilled to welcome Gwen to the BioHealth team,” said Alex Zisson, Co-Head of H.I.G. BioHealth Partners. “Her investing and operational experience will be invaluable as we continue to back top-tier healthcare innovators.”

Watanabe added, “I’m excited to join H.I.G. BioHealth Partners and work with them to expand their platform for investing in industry-leading healthcare businesses. I look forward to building on the team’s strong track record and working together to continue building a best-in-class portfolio.”

About H.I.G. BioHealth Partners
H.I.G. BioHealth Partners is the dedicated life-science investment affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global alternative investment firm with over $47 billion of equity capital under management.* H.I.G. BioHealth Partners invests in a broad range of healthcare opportunities across sectors and stages, principally in companies developing therapeutic drugs, medical devices, pharmaceutical services, digital therapeutics and diagnostics for significant unmet medical needs. H.I.G. BioHealth Partners invests $5 million to $40 million per company over the life of an investment. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. BioHealth Partners website at www.higbio.com

About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global alternative assets investment firm with over $47 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/ value-added approach:

1. H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
2. H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
3. H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.
4. H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 companies worldwide. The firm's current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $30 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

* Based on total capital commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.

Bruce Robertson
Managing Director
brobertson@higcapital.com

Alex Zisson
Managing Director
azisson@higcapital.com

H.I.G. BioHealth Partners
One Station Place, 5th Floor
Stamford, CT 06902
P 203.428.3905
www.HIGBio.com