Garheng Kong
DURHAM, NC – Garheng Kong of Durham-based venture capital firm Intersouth Partners, one of the best known VCs in the Southeast, is leaving the firm to join a California venture capital firm. Kong, who focused on biotechnology, has been a familiar face at Southeast venture capital events and biotechnology conferences for a decade.
Intersouth said Richard Kent, previously a venture partner with the firm, has been named a general partner.
Kong joined Intersouth part-time in 2000, while finishing his graduate degrees at Duke University. He joined the firm full-time in 2001. He leaves to join another venture capital firm in California.
“Garheng has been a key member of our team for the last decade. He joined us while he was still in graduate schoool and we’ve had the opportunity to watch his career develop over that period of time,” said Dennis Dougherty, general partner with Intersouth.
We’ve turned to Kong for insight into the biotechnology field many times over the last decade. He was always patient in walking us through the details of a new biotech firm’s approach.
Intersouth’s Communications Director Suzanne Cantando tells us the move back to California “Is a unique opportunity for him to return home where his family lives.” She adds that Kong will disclose the name of the firm he is joining at a later time.
Kent, a board certified internist in cardiology, joined Intersouth in 2008 after having served as the President and CEO of Serenex, an Intersouth-backed drug discovery company that was acquired by Pfizer in April 2008. He previously spent 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry, starting his post-medical career as a clinical researcher at Burroughs Wellcome and ultimately becoming the vice president of Medical Affairs and chief medical officer at GlaxoSmithKline.
Intersouth Partners is one of the most active and experienced early-stage venture funds in the country, having invested in almost 100 private companies over the last two decades. Founded in 1985, Intersouth Partners manages more than $780 million in seven venture capital limited partnerships, making it the largest venture capital fund in North Carolina and one of the largest in the Southeast.
To contact TechJournal South Editor & Writer Allan Maurer: Allan at TechJournalSouth dot com.
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Tags: Biotech, Dennis Dougherty, Durham, Garheng Kong, Intersouth Partners, NC, Richard Kent, Suzanne Cantando
