Anita Watkins

Managing Director, UNC Health Ventures

As the Managing Director for UNC Health Ventures, Anita leads the corporate venture fund of UNC Health, advancing healthcare innovation through strategic equity investments in early-stage companies. She works with companies to evaluate fit and with portfolio companies to deliver on strategic investment by leveraging expertise within UNC Health System.

With more than a decade of direct investing experience, she has invested in more than 50 deals and served on multiple private and non-profit boards. She currently serves as a director or observer on the boards of Vergent Bioscience, Synaptrix, GI Windows, and Censinet.

Anita advises companies on successful commercial pathways, effective partnerships with health systems and the business of health care. She was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship in 2020, which included travel to Chile and Spain to evaluate targeted funding and public policy initiatives bolstering female entrepreneurship. She also serves on the board of OnBoardNC, an organization started by the former NC State Treasurer to advance diversification of board directors, serves on the NCSU Chancellor’s Innovation Fund Board, and has served as Chair of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences Board and on the Board for the Center for Entrepreneurial Development.

She is a graduate of NC State University and holds a Juris Doctorate and a Masters from the University of North Carolina.