Wellington Financial hires new partner to drive financings in life sciences companies
Wellington Financial LP, a privately-held specialty finance firm, has hired Jeff Chapman as Partner and Head of Healthcare & Life Sciences in an effort to help the company break into the healthcare and life science vertical. Chapman, a seasoned life sciences investment professional, will join the firm’s Menlo Park office in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Chapman most recently served as Senior Vice President and Head of Life Sciences at Comerica Bank where he was responsible for life science debt financings within its multi-billion dollar technology and life science loan portfolio. With Chapman joining the team in the wake of the firm’s recent successful close of Fund V, Wellington Financial says its looking forward to substantially increasing its growth capital investments in innovative life science and healthcare companies.
“Life sciences has always presented exciting investment opportunities with so many innovative companies bringing transformative technologies, services and products to market in the U.S., Canada and United Kingdom. We’re delighted to welcome Jeff to our team in Menlo Park to enable us to best capitalize on this opportunity and help leading entrepreneurs continue to excel with our growth capital,” says Mark McQueen, Wellington Financial’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“At his prior institution, Jeff established himself as one of the leaders in innovation lending. Jeff has proven time and again that he is committed to the success of entrepreneurs, making him a great fit for our team. His expertise will ensure we’re looking at the right opportunities as we grow our efforts within life sciences and healthcare,” McQueen adds.
Prior to Comerica Bank, Chapman served as a director at a private venture debt firm, where he financed companies in the biopharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and tools industries. Previously he worked in Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical business development group where he focused on the metabolic and immune-mediated inflammatory disorders therapeutic areas. Chapman began his career working at LabVelocity, a venture-backed life sciences technology start-up.
“I’m looking forward to deepening Wellington’s investment exposure in healthcare and life sciences. Over the past 16 years, Wellington has made a positive contribution to dozens of companies across North America. I value the firm’s partnership approach and its industry leading product offering,” says Chapman. “Wellington has a reputation for identifying promising U.S. businesses and entrepreneurs. I’m honored to join the firm in a position where I can aid these businesses in the discovery and development of new technologies and the transformation of healthcare systems.”
Jeff received a B.S. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also spent two years as a doctoral candidate in Biomedical Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco.
Wellington Financial LP is a member of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.
