---
title: 'CEO | Occlunova at NLC Health Ventures'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/ceo-occlunova-nlc-health-ventures-minnesota-f8ps8n4g8c56'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-12'
---

# CEO | Occlunova at NLC Health Ventures

- **Company:** NLC Health Ventures
- **Location:** Minnesota, United States
- **Posted:** 2026-07-21
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/nlcventures/jobs/7811659003

## Job description

Chief Executive Officer | Occlunova

Location: USA, with a preference for Minnesota or New Jersey, with regular travel to clinical sites and occasional travel to NLC Health Ventures in Amsterdam

Commitment: Full-time

Compensation: Meaningful equity participation + competitive compensation

Reports to: Board of Directors

## About the Venture – Occlunova

Occlunova is a medtech venture developing the next generation of Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion (LAAO) technology to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). AF affects more than 60 million people worldwide and drives a 5x increase in stroke risk. Yet, existing LAAO devices remain limited by leak rates, traumatic anchoring mechanisms, and persistent device-related thrombosis.

Occlunova's platform combines an anatomy-conforming balloon with an atraumatic anchoring method engineered to reduce leaks, minimize procedural risk, and let AF patients safely come off oral anticoagulant therapy. The company is also integrating left atrial appendage electrical isolation (LAAEI) into the same device, enabling occlusion and ablation to be performed in a single procedure - an increasingly relevant combination with no direct equivalent on the market today.

The technology has been validated in benchtop, ex-vivo (human cadaver), and in-vivo (canine) studies that indicate measurable advantages in comparison with market technologies.

Occlunova has raised its pre-seed and is preparing for seed financing to fund its first-in-human studies in 2027. All major structural heart strategics are active acquirers in this space, and pre-approval exits are the norm rather than the exception.

Occlunova is part of the venture portfolio of NLC Health Ventures, built in collaboration with Fusion MedTech and clinical collaborators at Mayo Clinic.

The Opportunity

We are looking for an experienced medtech CEO to take Occlunova from a validated prototype with a strong clinical and technical team in place through further clinical development and towards a strategic exit. This is a company-building role for a leader who has done this before: someone who has taken an implantable cardiovascular device through fundraising, clinical trials, and ideally into the hands of a strategic acquirer or to market.

You will own the company's overall strategy and be the primary face of Occlunova to investors, clinical partners, and future acquirers, while building the team and organization needed to execute against an ambitious but realistic timeline.

## Your Role

Set Strategy and Lead the Company

- Own overall corporate strategy, prioritization, and resource allocation across product, clinical, and regulatory workstreams
- Translate the LAAO/LAAEI platform into a clear, milestone-driven path to value creation, together with identifying and managing key partners like CROs, CDMOs, advisors, and other key suppliers.
- Represent Occlunova externally to investors, KOLs, strategics, and industry partners

Lead Fundraising

- Drive seed and subsequent financing rounds, including investor targeting, materials, diligence, and negotiation
- Build and maintain relationships with venture investors, strategic corporate partners, and non-dilutive funding sources
- Manage capital efficiently against the milestones that matter most for the next raise and eventual exit

Advance Clinical Development

- Own the design, sequencing, and execution of clinical studies from first-in-human through pivotal trial
- Build relationships with interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, and KOLs in structural heart and AF ablation
- Work with regulatory advisors to shape a credible pathway through FDA (and OUS regulators as relevant)

Build Toward a Strategic Outcome

- Understand the competitive and M&A landscape in LAAO and PFA ablation, and position Occlunova accordingly
- Build and sustain relationships with corporate development teams at strategic acquirers
- Prepare the company operationally and financially for partnership or exit conversations

Build and Lead the Organization

- Recruit and lead a high-performing team across clinical, regulatory, engineering, and operations
- Establish the organizational structure, culture, and processes needed to scale from a small team to a clinical- and subsequently commercial-stage company
- Foster a culture of creativity, rigor, and perseverance, and urgency appropriate to a capital-efficient medtech startup

## Your Profile

We are looking for a CEO who combines deep medtech operating experience with the strategic thinking and creativity needed to build a company from this stage forward.

## Preferred Background

- Experience in implantable medical devices, ideally in cardiovascular or structural heart
- A track record of successfully raising capital for a medtech venture (venture capital, strategic, and/or non-dilutive), including the financial acumen required to forecast and manage
- Experience organizing and managing clinical trials for an implantable device, from early feasibility through pivotal study
- Strong team-building and organizational skills, with the ability to recruit and lead a multidisciplinary team
- Creative, strategic thinker who is comfortable operating with high autonomy in an ambiguous, resource-constrained environment
- Excellent communication skills across clinical, technical, investor, and corporate development audiences
- Experience at a medtech strategic (e.g., Boston Scientific, Abbott, Medtronic, J&J) is a plus; for example, in a business development or sales/commercial role, with an understanding of how strategics evaluate and acquire early-stage technology

Location

- Based in the United States, with a preference for Minnesota or New Jersey, with willingness to travel regularly to clinical sites, KOLs, conferences and NLC Health Ventures

Why Join Occlunova?

- Lead a differentiated, IP-protected platform in one of medtech’s most active and patient-impacting areas of innovation
- Build on a strong foundation of preclinical validation, IP, and extensive know-how
- Work with an experienced venture-building partner (NLC Health Ventures) and clinical collaborators including Mayo Clinic
- Clear, near-term path to seed funding and beyond, with multiple strategic acquirers already active in the well-capitalized M&A markets
- Own the (financial) success of the company through a meaningful equity participation package (milestone-based equity and co-investment opportunity) alongside the investor base

## About NLC

NLC Health Ventures is a leading healthcare innovation platform based in Amsterdam, combining venture building and fund management across Europe and North America. NLC manages four captive funds investing in ventures from pre-seed to Series B-C. The funds have a diverse LP base and have invested in over 70 companies. NLC values a collaborative, open, and impact-driven culture, where team members' ideas and contributions truly matter.

## About NLC Health Ventures

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: NLC Health Ventures is a world-leading healthtech venture builder and early-stage investor that finds, builds, and scales transformative health technologies to bring scientific discoveries to patients.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Venture Builder & Investor)
- **Headquarters**: Amsterdam, Netherlands
- **Founded**: 2014
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Healthtech Venture Building & Early-Stage Investment; Therapeutics; Medtech (Orthopedics & Spine, Cardiovascular & IGT); New Markets (neonatal, respiratory, enterprise hospital software)
- **Target customers**: B2B; scientific founders, academic institutions, healthcare systems, and patients
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "To transform patients' lives by bringing groundbreaking scientific discoveries to life" and "to bring science to life by bridging the gap between scientific discoveries and market-ready solutions that transform patients’ lives."

## Products & Services
- **Venture Building**: NLC identifies scientific inventions and builds them into standalone healthtech ventures, providing operational, strategic, and funding support from concept to market.
- **Early-Stage Investment**: NLC manages captive funds and has raised over €190M+ for its portfolio ventures, investing across therapeutics, medtech, and new market technologies.
- **Portfolio Ventures**: NLC has built 110+ ventures, including XtRNA Bio (tRNA biotherapeutics for rare genetic diseases) and ROB'E (robotic endoscopy), among others.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private venture builder)
- **Key Metric**: Over €190M+ raised by NLC ventures; 110+ ventures built; 2M+ patients impacted; 1500+ technologies assessed annually
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly listed, but NLC is a certified B Corporation and part of its community of leaders. The company has 4 captive funds.
- **Growth Signals**: 40+ healthcare experts on staff, supported by over 1,000 experts globally; 110+ ventures built; 2M+ patients impacted; active hiring for senior leadership roles (CEO, CTO, Scientific Director) across portfolio companies.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary Venture-Building Model**: NLC’s unique approach uses data and learnings to systematically find inventions and create ventures at scale, bridging the gap between academic science and market-ready solutions.
- **Deep Healthcare Expertise**: A team of 40+ healthcare, finance, and business professionals, supported by 1,500+ global experts, provides unparalleled domain knowledge in therapeutics, medtech, and new markets.
- **Certified B Corporation**: Commitment to using business as a force for good, driving a global movement of leaders focused on impact.
- **Proven Track Record**: 110+ ventures built, €190M+ raised, and 2M+ patients impacted, demonstrating a repeatable model for success.

## Strategic Focus
- **Current priorities**: Expanding its portfolio across therapeutics (gene therapy, tRNA biotherapeutics), medtech (robotic endoscopy, orthopedics, cardiovascular), and new markets (neonatal, respiratory, enterprise hospital software). Actively hiring for senior leadership roles (CEO, CTO, Scientific Director) to scale portfolio companies toward first-in-human studies and market entry.
- **Direction for growth**: Deepening its platform-based approach (e.g., tRNA therapeutics for rare diseases) and expanding into new therapeutic modalities and delivery systems (AAV, LNP). Scaling ventures from preclinical to IND-enabling studies and clinical readiness.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: NLC emphasizes a culture of openness, transparency, and impact over titles. Core values include being open, optimistic, together, and decisive. The company is a certified B Corporation, committed to using business as a force for good.
- **Hybrid Working Model**: NLC offers a flexible hybrid working model, balancing office time and remote work. Many roles are remote-first (preferred Europe), with some requiring travel to partner sites.
- **Compensation & Benefits**: Staff Participation Plan (SPP) and Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) allow employees to share in the company's success. Yearly learning and development budget. Unlimited/unrecorded holidays. Primarily equity-based compensation for early-stage venture roles, with a modest base salary until fundraising.
- **Culture**: Values include openness, optimism, collaboration ("Together"), and decisiveness. The company prioritizes impact over titles and fosters a transparent, innovative environment. Certified B Corporation.
- **Team**: 40+ healthcare, finance, and business professionals, supported by over 1,000 experts worldwide. 144 total employees (as per Built In).
- **Diversity & Inclusion**: Committed to being an equal opportunity employer; believes diversity drives innovation.

## Sources
1. [nlc.health](https://www.nlc.health/)
2. [nlc.health/careers](https://www.nlc.health/careers)
3. [job-boards.greenhouse.io](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/nlcventures/jobs/7731781003)
4. [job-boards.greenhouse.io](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/nlcventures/jobs/7731839003)
5. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/nlc-health-ventures)

## Other roles at NLC Health Ventures

- [Investment Director](https://feeny.ai/job/investment-director-nlc-health-ventures-amsterdam-5686s8e1kkay) — Amsterdam, Netherlands
- [Capital Acquisition Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/capital-acquisition-manager-nlc-health-ventures-amsterdam-1nar4hpxd8pt) — Amsterdam, Netherlands
- [CEO | Persuasive](https://feeny.ai/job/ceo-persuasive-nlc-health-ventures-utrecht-83r3ffmkg6p6) — Utrecht, Canada
- [Head of Product and Strategy | ROB'E](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-product-and-strategy-rob-e-nlc-health-ventures-hamburg-yz48avadr4g8) — Hamburg, Germany
- [CEO (Gene Therapy) XtRNA](https://feeny.ai/job/ceo-gene-therapy-xtrna-nlc-health-ventures-nijmegen-the-p4ky3g3qvnks) — Nijmegen the, Netherlands