What You Should Know:
– Echo Health Ventures, a healthcare strategic venture capital and growth equity investment firm, today announced it is establishing a local presence in Tennessee led by Echo Health Advisors Principal Hayley Hovious, who joined the company in March following seven years as president of the Nashville Health Care Council.
– Echo Health Ventures CEO Rob Coppedge expects the new location to drive innovation by developing connections between its portfolio companies, Echo Innovation Alliance members representing four Blues health plans, and health services companies headquartered in the area.
Why Nashville?
Echo CEO Rob Coppedge, a Tennessee native, sees its Nashville presence as a major milestone towards the company’s mission to drive innovation to improve health outcomes, leading the way toward better health for the communities served by four Blues health plans that form the Echo Innovation Alliance. The alliance includes Cambia Health Solutions and Mosaic Health Solutions, which partnered to create Echo Health Ventures in 2016; USAble Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which joined the alliance in 2021; and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, which became an alliance member earlier this year. Collectively, the four enterprises cover more than 10 million members and diverse geographies in seven states.
Echo Investment Portfolio
With the addition of its Tennessee location, Echo now operates in six states including Oregon, North Carolina, Arkansas, Washington and Massachusetts. Echo’s growing investment portfolio includes more than 25 healthcare technology and services companies, including a recent investment in Nashville-based Embold Health, a physician-led health care analytics company. Echo continues to be a sought-after strategic investor because of its platform and engagement model.
“Echo invests to build great health care companies driving change that aligns with the priorities of its allied health plans – improving affordability, accessibility, the member experience and outcomes,” said Hovious. “I look forward to being part of a team accelerating and scaling adoption of cutting-edge health care technologies and services on a national scale.”
