Baird Capital Announces New Partner On Venture Team

Deepens Emphasis On Technology, Services And Healthcare It-Focused Investments

CHICAGO (July 13, 2022) – Today, Baird Capital, the Venture Capital and Global Private Equity arm of Baird, announced that Mark Donnelly has joined as a Partner on its Venture Capital team. Donnelly will work to deepen the group’s B2B technology and services footprint given his prior investment experience and relationships with SaaS, Analytics and Healthcare IT companies.

Donnelly comes to Baird Capital with 17 years of industry experience. He joins the Venture team from Runway Growth Capital, where he served as a Managing Director and Head of Origination and led the firm’s new investment efforts in the Technology and Healthcare IT verticals. Before Runway, Donnelly spent four years as a Principal with Beringea, where he focused on investments in mid-stage technology and services companies. Prior to that, he was on the investment teams at private equity firms The Riverside Company and DW Healthcare Partners and started his career in management consulting at Bain & Company. Donnelly earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

“I am thrilled to join the Venture team at Baird Capital,” said Donnelly. “I have a long-time professional and personal relationship with the firm’s partners and have long viewed Baird Capital as one of the preeminent mid-stage venture capital funds in the country. Their focus areas and power alleys within the Technology, Business Services, and Healthcare IT sectors align well with the general macro-trends we are predicting for the next decade and more. I have also spent the majority of my career based in and focused on the mid-country and other underserved geographies and believe I can help extend their presence and relationships in these key markets.”

“We have long recognized Mark’s industry knowledge and relationship-based approach to investing, having previously served as a co-investor on past investments, including Arrive (now FlashParking) and Montage Talent (now Modern Hire),” said Benedict Rocchio, Partner on Baird Capital’s Venture team. “Mark was someone we always enjoyed working with and management teams respected, and he was an obvious choice when we decided to expand our investment team to capitalize further on mid-stage investment opportunities in the technology sector, especially in the Midwest and middle-section of the country.”

Baird Capital works as one global platform, partnering across the world to support its portfolio. The Venture team, based in Chicago, had a record investment year in 2021, deploying $60 million in six new platforms and 14 follow-on investments, exceeding its previous record from 2020. Baird Capital announced the close of its fifth U.S. venture fund in 2020 with a total of $215 million in committed capital.

For more information on Baird Capital and its Venture platform, please visit BairdCapital.com.

About Baird Capital

Baird Capital makes venture capital, growth equity and private equity investments in B2B technology & services-focused companies around the world. Having invested in more than 335 companies over its history, Baird Capital partners with entrepreneurs and, leveraging its executive networks, strives to build exceptional companies. Baird Capital provides operational support to its portfolio companies through teams on the ground in the United States, Europe and Asia, a proactive portfolio operations team and a deep network of relationships, which together strive to deliver enhanced shareholder value. Baird Capital is the direct private investment arm of Robert W. Baird & Co. For more information, please visit BairdCapital.com.

For additional information, contact:

Rachel Berkowitz
Baird Public Relations
publicrelations@rwbaird.com