Kirk Nielsen is a Managing Partner at Vensana Capital. Kirk co-founded Vensana in 2019 as a Managing Director at Versant Ventures, where he led the firm’s medtech practice. He joined Versant in 2006 from Medtronic, where he worked in sales & marketing in the company’s Cardiac Rhythm Management division. Previously, he spent time at Fluidigm (a Versant portfolio company) and he also served as a consultant at Bain & Company, where he advised clients in healthcare, private equity, and other industries. Prior to his business career, Kirk was a professional hockey player.

Kirk has led or co-led investments in numerous companies that have successfully exited, including Artelon (acquired), Biotie Therapies (acquired), Cameron Health (acquired), CardiAQ (acquired), Inari Medical (IPO), Lutonix (acquired), NeuWave Medical (acquired), Sequent Medical (acquired), and Veran Medical (acquired), and he remains active with Alleviant Medical, CVRx (IPO), Elucent Medical, iVEAcare, Moxe, Okami Medical, and SpyGlass Pharma.

Kirk has also served as a member of the board of directors of the National Venture Capital Association.

Kirk graduated with an AB in Biology from Harvard College, where he won the John P. Reardon award as the school’s top scholar-athlete, and he earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar.