Lisa Suennen has spent over 35 years in healthcare as venture capitalist, entrepreneur, operating executive, and strategy consultant.  

Lisa serves as Managing Partner of American Heart Association Ventures, a platform of four venture funds focused on improving outcomes in cardiovascular and brain health.  Those funds include Go Red for Women, Cardeation Capital, the Social Impact Funds and Studio Red. 

Lisa has held General Partner and leadership roles at Psilos Group, Manatt Ventures, and GE Ventures.  She has also held senior executive roles at Canary Medical (President) and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips (Partner and Practice Leader, Head of Venture Fund).  

Previously, Lisa was a key management team member at Merit Behavioral Care (fka American Biodyne).  Lisa held key leadership roles, including Senior Vice President of Marketing & Sales and General Manager of multiple divisions. Lisa was an integral player in the company’s growth as it provided broad based care and care management for patients with behavioral health challenges and substance use disorders.  The company grew from early-stage startup to one with over $800M in revenue, had a successful IPO and was ultimately acquired by Magellan Health.  Lisa was also founding CEO of CSweetener, a company focused on matching mentors with rising female healthcare leaders (sold to HLTH Foundation).   

Lisa chairs the International Investment Committee of the Australian ANDHealth Digital Health Fund, sits on the Investment Committee of Manatt Venture Fund, and is an advisor to Nina Capital.  She is a founding member of the Duke Margolis Institute Capital Impact Council, and serves on the HLTH Community women’s advisory group.  She is past chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the NASA -funded Translational Research Institute for Space Health and serves on the boards and advisory boards of several emerging companies.  Lisa is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Health Innovators Fellowship and is on faculty at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. She was recently featured in Forbes 2025 List of the 50 Over 50. Lisa writes the Venture Valkyrie blog and is an internationally recognized author and speaker.