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William Rosenzweig
COMMISSION CHAIR
Physic Ventures
The work of the Vitality Institute Commission is inspiring because it brings together more than just the usual suspects and looks at how to solve health challenges through evidence-based solutions applicable across sectors. We want to be catalysts of progress – and this is a first step in the right direction.
Background
William B. Rosenzweig has spent more than twenty years integrating the practices and perspectives of an entrepreneur, venture investor and educator. Will is Managing Partner at Physic Ventures, LP, the first venture capital firm dedicated to investing in keeping people healthy by providing capital and expertise to science and technology-based, health and sustainability companies. Based in San Francisco, the firm’s strategy is to capitalize on major economic, social and political trends shaping the landscape of consumer health, well-being, and sustainable living.
As an entrepreneur, Will has been involved as a founder and executive of more than a dozen early-stage ventures. Will was founding CEO (and Minister of Progress) of The Republic of Tea, an award-winning specialty tea company that is credited with creating the premium tea category in the United States. He has played key leadership roles at Nakamichi, the TED Conference, Odwalla, Leapfrog Toys, Brand New Brands, Hambrecht Vineyards and Wineries, Kingdom of Herbs, and Winetasting.com.
In 2010, Will was honored with the Oslo Business for Peace Award, presented jointly by the Business for Peace Foundation and International Chamber of Commerce in Oslo, Norway. The award represents “the highest distinction given to a businessperson for outstanding accomplishments in the area of ethical business.” Will was the only American selected among seven global honorees by a committee comprised of Nobel Laureates including Professor Muhammad Yunus, Professor Wangari Maathai and Professor Michael Spence.
At Physic Ventures, Will leads the firm’s venture origination activities and supports portfolio companies in the areas of entrepreneurial leadership, business design, brand strategy and consumer marketing. Will works closely with portfolio companies EnergyHub, GoodGuide, Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy, Own, Recyclebank, Revolution Foods, and Yummly.
From 1999-2008, Will served on the faculty of the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley, where he taught the MBA courses in Social Entrepreneurship and Social Venture Development. He continues to serve as advisor to the Global Social Venture Competition and has been a visiting faculty member at London Business School. He has been a Price Kauffman fellow and has served as a mentor in the Kauffman Fellows program.
From 2000-2004, Will was also a team member for the Rockefeller Foundation’s ProVenEx Fund, an investment vehicle seeking “double bottom line returns” in for-profit businesses. He was the co-project director and co-author of Rockefeller Foundation-sponsored research on Impact Assessment.
Will co-authored the bestselling book The Republic of Tea: How an Idea Becomes a Business (Doubleday 1992, 1994), which was recently named one of the 100 best business books of all time. He also serves on advisory boards for the NVCA Corporate Venturing Group, a Gates Foundation funded project for on-site sanitation, FairTrade USA, the Culinary Institute of America, and SustainAbility, a London-based think tank.
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