James Brown

I am a principal investor, board member, and former senior executive with extensive experience guiding companies from early formation through scale, governance maturity, and public markets. My background includes serving on public company boards, acting as an audit committee financial expert, and investing alongside founders at the earliest stages—often when there are only two people and an idea. I have helped take multiple businesses through growth, institutionalization, and ultimately liquidity events, including public listings and strategic sales. I focus on governance, structure, and risk—particularly in complex or regulated environments where judgment, discipline, and incentives matter more than projections. Over the years, that has included evaluating and structuring opportunities across technology, services, real assets, and life-science–sectors. Today, I am a Managing Director at a principal-led multi-family office where we invest our own capital alongside families, emphasize downside protection, and prioritize long-term outcomes over transaction activity. A meaningful part of my work involves helping families avoid poorly structured deals, weak teams, and situations where enthusiasm outruns fundamentals. I believe capital is best deployed patiently, with alignment, clear governance, and an honest understanding of risk. Key Achievements • Drove IPO process at OpenTV, leading interactive TV software company; built and led legal, business development, and corporate development teams. Led multiple M&A transactions and integrations. Launched and scaled new business content and applications unit $25MM ARR in 12 months, built team to 300 employees worldwide; drove process of sale of company to Liberty Media for ~$600MM. • Raised $140MM IPO for Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, ~$1B valuation; later acquired by MD Anderson Cancer Center. • Turned around 20-hospital group with 4,000+ employees, executing strategic facility sales and litigation processes to obtain substantial investor recovery. • Scaled cybersecurity software company, raising capital as CFO/COO; later acquired for ~$250MM. • Guided Alzheimer’s software venture at Apollo Health; raised multiple rounds of growth financing. • Board roles in many smaller private companies across various industries from 1998-present. • Partner in two international law firms, advising Fortune 500 and emerging growth companies on securities, financing, M&A, compliance, and general corporate matters. Assembled and ran interdisciplinary teams handling high-stakes transactions.