About Us
Jay Kern
Jay Kern is the Founder and General Partner of Kern Capital, LLC.
Jay established Kern Capital in early 2020 to continue, with an increased focus on the life sciences, the private equity investing he had overseen for 13 years as Founder and General Partner of Kern Whelan Capital. Kern Whelan managed a diverse portfolio of early stage and growth equity investments in technology enabled service businesses, life sciences, cellular communications infrastructure, niche manufacturing, and other areas. Prior to founding Kern Whelan in 2007, Jay spent over a decade in private equity investing as Managing Director of Reynolds, DeWitt & Co. in Cincinnati, where from 2001 he led all acquisitions and venture financings. One of Reynolds, DeWitt’s more notable holdings is the St. Louis Cardinals, acquired in 1995 from Anheuser Busch by a group led by Bill DeWitt, co-Chairman of Reynolds, DeWitt & Co.
Notable private life science investments include Reata Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Biogen); GPN Vaccines; Apton Biosystems (acquired by Pacific Biosciences); Ionetix, a radiopharmaceutical solution provider; PGDx, a cancer diagnostics company acquired by LabCorp; Concentric Analgesics, a non-opioid pain management company; and Provider Synergies, a pharmaceutical rebate contracting business that generated 25X on invested capital.
Prior to joining Reynolds, DeWitt in 1997, Jay was with McKinsey & Company as a management consultant to manufacturing and financial services firms.
Jay serves or has served as a director or observer on the boards of numerous portfolio companies, among them, GPN Vaccines, AIdentified, Apton Biosystems, Pallet Logistics of America, a manufacturer and distributor of wooden pallets; Tech Lighting (Chairman), a manufacturer of architectural lighting; InvestCloud, a SaaS Fintech firm sold for $1 Billion in early 2021; Dixon Midland, a $50 million fund for leveraged acquisitions; Arcadia Communications, a developer of and owner of cellular communications towers; Discovia, an e-discovery business headquartered in San Francisco; Shopatron Inc., an ecommerce solutions provider; Tab Products, a $100 million document management systems business; ISI, a communications management software business; Lottery Now, a mobile platform for lottery; ProService Hawaii, the dominant professional employment organization of the Hawaiian islands; and many others. Jay was also a member of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Services and Financial Industries, which is administered jointly by the US Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative.
Jay serves on the board of the BASIC FUND, on the audit committee of the UCSF Foundation Board and served as Vice Chairman of the Board of the San Francisco Art Institute, on the board of the Bay Area Discovery Museum and as President of the Ross School Foundation. Among Jay’s many charitable involvements in Cincinnati, he served as a Trustee of the Cincinnati Symphony, Trustee and Development Chair of the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center, Trustee and Treasurer of The Taft Museum, and Trustee of the Visiting Nurse Association. Jay served as President of his alumni class for the 20th to 25th reunion at Phillips Exeter Academy and chaired his 25th and 30th reunion giving campaigns. He served as Vice Chair of Annual Giving for his 30th Princeton reunion and Chair of Giving for his 25th University of Chicago Booth Business School reunion.
Jay received a JD and MBA from the University of Chicago and his BA from Princeton University. He was a British American Educational Foundation Scholar at Eton College in England. He lives with his wife Katie in Marin and looks forward to the occasional visits home of his three adult children. Jay enjoys golf, tennis, downhill skiing, and many other outdoor sports, classical music and fine arts as well as a nice glass of wine.
Address
60 E. Sir Francis Blvd, Suite 302
Larkspur, CA, 94939
info@kerncapitalllc.com