Lana Ghanem has been managing director of Hikma Ventures since August 2015 having officially joined the Lebanon-based generic drugs company three years earlier within the office of the CEO covering corporate strategy and development. She was a summer associate in 2011 while completing her MBA from Harvard.
Going from that to “establishing Hikma Ventures has been an eye-opening experience with a steep learning curve”, she said.
“It enabled various Hikma teams, including sales and marketing, business development, legal and operations, to gain exposure to emerging innovative technologies that will change healthcare. Digital health is becoming more of a necessity than a nice-to-have.”
She said her highlights from the past year included hiring Hamzeh Abdul-Hadi, a GCV Rising Star, as an associate, and making two investments in US-based companies, Chrono Therapeutics and Propeller Health.
She is a board observer at both portfolio companies, but looking for more deals, and has been working on “building Hikma Ventures’ reputation” through connections with more than 120 venture capital firms globally.