Kirk Nielsen

Kirk Nielsen is a Managing Director at Versant Ventures, where he leads the firm’s med tech practice. Kirk 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. At Versant, Kirk has led or co-led investments in Biotie Therapies (public/acquired), Cameron Health (acquired), CardiAQ (acquired), Lutonix (acquired), NeuWave Medical (acquired), Sequent Medical (acquired), Zyga Technology (acquired), Ceterix Orthopaedics, Inari Medical, Metavention, Monteris Medical, Nuvaira, Respicardia and Veran Medical. Based in Minneapolis, he also leads the firm’s activities in the Midwest. Kirk graduated with a BA 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.