Noubar Afeyan: Entrepreneurial Innovations Transforming Health and Sustainability

Dr. Afeyan will draw upon his 25-year career as inventor, entrepreneur, CEO and venture capitalist in discussing cutting edge innovations at the intersection of technology, life sciences and health.

Noubar Afeyan is founder, Senior Managing Partner and CEO of Flagship Ventures, a leading early stage venture capital firm. He also leads the firm’s VentureLabs unit that invents and launches transformative startups. He is a Senior Lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management where he has taught courses on technology-entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership since 2000. Dr. Afeyan has authored numerous scientific publications and patents since earning his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from MIT in 1987. He lectures widely in the United States and internationally on diverse topics ranging from entrepreneurship, innovation and venture capital to biological engineering, drug discovery, medical technologies and renewable energy.

In addition, he serves on the board of AmeriaBank and of UWC Dilijan International School, both of Armenia. Previously, he was a co-founder and board member of the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia, a private-public partnership dedicated to promoting economic development in the former Soviet Republic of Armenia. In 2008 he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, an award granted to outstanding Americans who have distinguished themselves as United States citizens and who have enabled their ancestry groups to maintain their identities while becoming integral parts of American life.