Milt Capps
Published Friday, December 26, 2008 11:05 am

Nashville's Council Ventures has added a general partner with deep VC experience in healthcare and healthcare IT investing.

Grant A. Jackson (left) previously spent nearly four years as a senior associate and then principal in Aurora Funds near Research Triangle Park, in Durham, N.C.

Word of Jackson's joining Council's 2nd Avenue office has been circulating and Council has been introducing him to the business community, for weeks. In the absence of a formal announcement from Council, the recent addition of Jackson's profile to Council's website seems to make it official.

Jackson made the move close-on-the-heels of one of his latest deals at Aurora, the sale of Glen Allen, Va.-based Agility Healthcare Solutions to General Electric's Healthcare unit, under undisclosed terms, less than two years after Aurora invested with other VCs in Agility.

Council Ventures was formed in 2000 by Chairman Denny Bottorff (below, right), former chairman of AmSouth Bancorporation and other institutions; and, Co-Founder and President Katie Gambill (left), former president of SunTrust Equitable Securities.

The firm's fourth GP is Gary Peat. Council's structure also includes prominent business leaders among its operating partners and CEO Council. Calls placed to Gambill and Peat this post-holiday morning have not yet been returned.

At Aurora, Jackson helped develop life-sciences deal flow; led the company's healthcare investing effort; and, held board seats or observer status with four healthcare-sector firms: ALN Medical Services, Agility Healthcare Solutions, Valor Healthcare, Trivrix and UES.

Earlier, Jackson was with Chicago-based First Analysis Corporation, an investment bank and VC, where he also focused on healthcare ventures and equities. While at First, he was on the board of Future Health Corporation and was prime contact for CCS Medical.

He also previously served in a VC group within Compaq Computer in Palo Alto, and was a manager at Accenture, where he reportedly focused on IT assessment and implementation associated with M&A transactions.

Jackson earned his MBA Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, and was a Siebel Scholarship recipient (Class of 2001). For other recent coverage of Council Ventures, please click here. ♦