Rod’s passion for innovative science and its power to impact people’s lives led him to launch RTW in 2009. His rigorous approach to analyzing the latest science and narrowing in on the ideas with the best potential formed the foundation of what the firm is today.
Over the last 13 years, Rod has built a diverse team of scientists, entrepreneurs, dealmakers, and operators with the capabilities to find those promising scientific innovations and power their development into life-changing medicine. In addition to his leadership of the firm, Rod manages the firm’s investments focused on innovative drug development.
Prior to forming RTW, he was a Managing Director and sole Portfolio Manager for the Davidson Kempner Healthcare Funds. Before joining Davidson Kempner, Rod held various healthcare investment and research roles at Sigma Capital Partners and Cowen & Company.
We get to support some of the most inspiring doctors and entrepreneurs during the genomic age, when the secrets to disease are being unlocked in real time. It’s hard not to jump out of bed every morning excited to study science.
Rod simultaneously received an MD from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BS in Economics from Duke University.
Rod has a keen interest in educating the next generation of life science entrepreneurs. He regularly sits on a variety of corporate boards, including serving as Chairman of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, a company formed and incubated by RTW. In addition, he serves on the board of Penn Medicine, as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Finance at NYU Stern, and as Chairman of the RTW Foundation.