Heath Naquin

Heath Naquin serves as Senior Vice President of Innovation & New Ventures at the Science Center, where he leads strategy and execution across venture creation, commercialization, AI adoption and capital formation initiatives.

In this role, he led the creation of the Science Center’s flagship Capital Readiness Program, leads the organization’s government partnerships and funding portfolio, and the expansion of its innovation platform into new geographic and sector markets. His work focuses on accelerating commercialization in medtech, AI, and dual-use technologies while addressing systemic capital gaps facing emerging ventures.

Over his career, Heath has created and deployed more than $200 million in global venture funds focused on science and technology innovation, and has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on more than $250 million in funding and contracts spanning federal, state, and international programs.

He has led or advised major national and international initiatives in technology transfer, venture development, and fund creation, including the NIH RADx External Commercial Partnerships team, the U.S. Department of State’s Global Innovation in Science and Technology (GIST) initiative across more than 130 countries, and commercialization and innovation programs supported by the National Science Foundation and European Investment Fund.

Heath has also advised leading organizations such as the Kauffman Foundation, Jobs for the Future, and The Builder Platform at MIT, contributing to the design and deployment of scalable entrepreneurship, investment, and commercialization frameworks. In addition, he personally is an active angel investor and an LP in several early-stage investment funds and remains active in the venture community.