US-based media conglomerate Cowles has promoted corporate controller Skye Henderson to investment manager at its corporate venture capital (CVC) unit, Cowles Ventures.
Steve Rector, chief financial officer at Cowles, has run the CVC unit, which has invested about $85m over the past eight years, across 28 companies in the western United States.
Henderson joined Cowles in late 2018, and his corporate controller position will be filled by Tom Brajcich, who has served as the company’s print media controller since early 2019, according to the Spokane Journal.
Rector told the Journal: “When we first started, there were not a whole lot of opportunities in Spokane, as far as deal flow.
“I have been essentially full time on this for the past several years, but I needed some help, and that is where Skye Henderson is going to jump in.”
In the Spokane area of Washington state, Cowles Ventures has invested in Medcurity, a developer of medical record management software, as well as spices and rubs producer Spiceology, small LED maker Rohinni, geothermal equipment provider HyperSciences and healthtech companies Gestalt Diagnostics and TMS Solutions.
Spiceology raised $4.7m last month in a series A round that included Cowles Ventures in addition to Kickstart Funds III and IV and individuals including Ty Bennett.
The unit’s five exits so far include cancer therapy developer Stemcentrx, which was acquired in 2016 for $5.8bn by biopharmaceutical company AbbVie.
Rector told the Journal the Spokane area could see additional healthcare startups from the planned University of Washington School of Medicine-Gonzaga University Health Partnership, adding: “That is going to foster research and innovation, and we would definitely look at stuff like that”.
Photo of Skye Henderson courtesy of LinkedIn.
