Desmond Nation

Desmond is a business development leader with extensive experience developing innovative business models and executing new partnerships within the healthcare space. His career has centered around driving new disruptive technologies and products that improve patient outcomes at various market-leading healthcare organizations, UnitedHealth Group (UHG), Olympus Corporation, Mayo Clinic, and Medtronic. As a Venture Lead in Emerging Businesses at UHG, Desmond identified and led seed-stage investments to develop commercialization opportunities for UHG and UHG’s operating entities, Optum and UnitedHealthcare. Prior to UHG, he was the Director of Business Development and Strategy at Olympus Corporation. He led the comprehensive redesign of their business development function and deal sourcing pipeline for M&A, equity investments, and commercial distribution transactions. Desmond is passionate about driving value creation opportunities in the healthcare sector and enjoys advising organizations on their corporate development, ventures, and emerging business development strategy.

Desmond is a graduate of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He received a Masters’ of Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College. He currently lives in Minneapolis with his wife and three sons. As a father of three young boys, the impact that the Shooting Star Foundation is having on families with special needs children truly resonated with him. The value and support that SSF is providing to families across various backgrounds within the Twin Cities were also measurable and clear with an opportunity to deliver even more value in the future.