Nancy Brown

Nancy Brown has been CEO of the American Heart Association since 2008. She was instrumental in starting the group’s Go Red for Women Venture Fund in 2024, which aims to invest $75 million in companies focused on health solutions specifically for women—since they often have different heart-disease symptoms than men. Only 2% of health care venture funding in 2023 went to women’s health, Brown says. Now, the American Heart Association is funding researchers who are studying ways to better spot high-risk women. Under Brown’s leadership, the fund will make its first investments in two start-up companies that help diagnose and treat neurological conditions and high blood pressure in women. “I predict that care will change in the not distant future because of the funding that we've been able to provide and the real dedication of these scientists.”