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New MUSC Foundation board member brings venture capital experience
By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer
Dennis Dougherty, the newest member of the board of directors for the Medical University of South Carolina’s Foundation for Research Development, could be a shot in the arm for Charleston’s bio-tech entrepreneurial network.
As the founding managing partner of Intersouth Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in technology and life science startups in the Southeast, Dougherty has primary responsibility for the firm’s life science portfolio, which includes companies in biopharmaceuticals, medical technology and agribusiness.
Dougherty’s involvement with MUSC FRD came about through a previous working collaboration with Robert Pozner, interim executive director and director of technology transfer for MUSC FRD.
“I knew Bob Pozner when he was at UNC-Chapel Hill and took notice of the great things he was doing there,” Dougherty says. “I have such a high regard for Bob that when he said he was going to MUSC, I told him if I could do anything to help him be successful to let me know. He called and told me Charleston is a really special place and he’d like me to be on board.”
Dougherty’s firm, Intersouth Partners, is based in Durham, N.C., in the heart of North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. Intersouth is one of the most active and experienced early-stage venture funds in the Southeast, having invested in more than 75 private companies over the last 20 years. The company manages more than $500 million in six venture capital limited partnerships.
Dougherty’s RTP experience makes him a great fit for the foundation’s board. He has long been active in the venture industry and serves on the boards of advisors of other venture funds and the board of directors for the National Venture Capital Association, where he also chairs the education committee.
Prior to founding Intersouth in 1985, Dougherty was an office managing partner and head of the small business unit for Touche Ross & Co. (now Deloitte & Touche). Before entering finance and accounting, he worked in sales and marketing for UNOCAL Chemical Division and served in the military.
Billing himself as “just someone who wants to work with scientists and would-be entrepreneurs,” Dougherty’s interests are in helping companies with a great idea get started. “The business world is not separable from science and medical, but my specific interest is backing good scientists.”
Charleston has a great deal of talent and potential in its midst.
“All of the great ideas aren’t coming out of Harvard or MIT exclusively. There are smart scientists everywhere, and given the opportunity, some of them will start great companies,” Dougherty says.
Among the skill sets Dougherty brings to the table, Pozner says, is “a wealth of early-stage investment knowledge as well as an understanding of university-based startups and how all of that works.”
Being from the Research Triangle Park is a bonus to Charleston, says Pozner, who considers Dougherty “the godfather of entrepreneurial work” in North Carolina.
“He helped build that community and he has a great understanding of what it will take to create that kind of community here in Charleston,” Pozner says. “That in itself is invaluable. We’re unbelievably fortunate to have him.”
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