ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Dovey was a partner at the venture capital firm Domain Associates, which has invested more than $2.8 billion in startups since 1988. He was involved in the development of more than 250 pharmaceutical and life-sciences startups and served on the boards of more than thirty-five companies (and as chairman of six) with a combined value of more than $25 billion.
Before becoming a venture capitalist, he was an early executive and then president of a medical-technology startup, Survival Technology Inc., which developed the groundbreaking EpiPen to treat severe allergic reactions. Survival’s rapid growth during his tenure placed it in the top ten of the prestigious Inc. 100 list.
Dovey was recruited to become president of a division of Rorer Group, then promoted to executive vice president of the entire company and later its president, where he led Rorer’s expansion into a fully integrated Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company, doubling sales with a fourfold increase in profits.
While still working full-time at Domain, Dovey donated his time to many nonprofit organizations, including as a director and later chairman of Wistar, the oldest medical research institute in the United States. He was a former chairman of the Center for Venture Education (also known as the Kauffman Fellows Program), which has been called “the venture-capital equivalent of Rhodes Scholars,” and a former chairman of the National Venture Capital Association, where he launched a new program to promote venture philanthropy.
Dovey taught business classes part-time, including a long-running, acclaimed course at San Diego State University called “Managing the Growing Firm.” He spoke at many events organized by the National Venture Capital Association, the Kauffman Foundation, the Young Presidents’ Organization, and other groups.
A native of New Jersey, Dovey received his BA in mathematics from Colgate University and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He divided his time between the two locations of Domain Associates, in Princeton (NJ) and La Jolla (CA). He and his wife, Elizabeth, had three children and eight grandchildren.
Brian Dovey died unexpectedly on August 27, 2023, with his wife of 60 years, Betty, at his side. As he doubtless would have wished, he was hard at work on the tasks of getting his wonderful, personal, and deeply wise book into the world, and had already begun to sign copies for friends and influencers as part of the planned October 3 book launch. Brian’s family wants to do all they can to ensure the book reaches the people who can benefit from his advice.