Venadar is pleased to announce that effective May 1, Keith Cowan, its current Chairman, began serving as the CEO of the Company.  Cowan replaces Mark Kaiser, one of the original founders of Venadar.  Kaiser will continue to serve as Vice Chairman and advisor to Venadar.  Since its inception in 2005, Venadar has provided strategic advisory and transaction support services to more than forty of the Fortune 500 companies in a dozen industries.  Venadar’s work allows companies to unlock growth and fill key strategic needs by collaborating with, investing in, or acquiring entrepreneurial companies with innovative products, services, and business models.

Cowan was previously the President of Strategic Planning and Corporate Initiatives at Sprint Corporation, and before that the Chief Development Officer of BellSouth Corporation, in both cases responsible for strategic planning, corporate development, growth initiatives, and corporate venture investing.  He also was a partner in Alston & Bird LLP, where for fourteen years he served clients in executing corporate initiatives, including commercial partnerships and mergers and acquisitions.  Because of his experience, Cowan brings a unique client understanding to the role of Venadar CEO.

“I experienced the challenges of collaborating with entrepreneurs to unleash growth, and I am delighted that Venadar has figured out a way to bridge the capabilities gap between big companies and small innovators in a systematic way that fully addresses clients’ strategic, growth, and operational needs.“

Cowan is planning for Venadar to fully utilize its team of talented professionals to support a more complete range of corporate development needs, ranging from the execution of specific growth initiatives to supporting corporate venturing programs.  “I am excited about working with a deep and experienced team that so enthusiastically embraces clients’ strategic initiatives and has a passion for formulating and executing on growth opportunities while also managing disruptive threats.”

Cowan wants to thank Mark Kaiser for his continuing relationship as advisor to the company, as well as for his committed efforts over the past dozen years to develop the proprietary Venadar playbooks, which facilitate corporate collaboration with, investment in, and acquisitions of entrepreneurial and innovative companies.  Bespoke playbooks are the basis of Venadar’s successful processes, search capabilities, and matchmaking capabilities.