From left to right, Mark Bakken, James Dahlberg and Dorri McWhorter are the recipients of the 2024 Prime Minister’s Entrepreneurial Achievement Award.
This week, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor’s Office, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, recognized Mark Bakken, James Dahlberg, and Dorie McWhorter as recipients of the 2024 Chancellor’s Entrepreneurial Achievement Award.
“The University of Wisconsin-Madison is driven by our alumni, students, staff, faculty and their curiosity, passion for problem-solving, and desire to make a difference, and is committed to innovation and entrepreneurial excellence,” said President Jennifer L. Mnookin. “It’s the center of family spirit.” “We are pleased to recognize three outstanding members of the Badger community who are leading life-changing innovations around the world while creating jobs, economic impact and social capital.”
Established in 2011, the Chancellor’s Entrepreneurial Achievement Award honors UC Madison students who have contributed to economic growth and social welfare, served as entrepreneurial models for the UC community, and inspired a campus culture of entrepreneurship. This award will be given to individuals who have ties to the school. Through their accomplishments, these outstanding entrepreneurs exemplify the Wisconsin Idea: the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s long-standing commitment to benefiting the world beyond the boundaries of our campus.
Details of this year’s winners:
Mark Bakken ’89
Founder and Managing Partner of HealthX Ventures
Mark Bakken leads HealthX Ventures, a Madison-based venture capital firm focused on digital healthcare. Since 2015, HealthX has raised his $137 million and invested in 34 companies (17 of which he started in Wisconsin). Inc. magazine. Known as a serial entrepreneur, Mr. Bakken is a Wisconsin information technology leader who has invested in 11 different venture funds and more than 80 individual startups. In total his portfolio companies have raised over $1.1 billion in venture capital.
“If I hadn’t met Mark, I never would have started my entrepreneurial journey,” said Rachel Neal, CEO of Carex Consulting Group. “Mark has been extremely instrumental in paving the way for entrepreneurs and those interested in entrepreneurship by generously offering his time, guidance and often funding to get businesses off the ground. Ta.”
Bakken, a computer science graduate from the University of California, Madison, rowed as a crew member as a student and worked in the information technology sector before founding his first startup, Goliath Networks. In addition to running HealthX Ventures, Bakken serves on the boards of the Wisconsin Technology Council and the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, and is a leader at the Wisconsin Creative Distraction Lab.
james dahlberg
Professor Emeritus of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-founder of Third Wave Technologies and Cambridge BioTech Corporation
Throughout his career, James Dahlberg has combined academic excellence and entrepreneurship to transform basic research into powerful technology for leading startups. He played a key role in uniting UC’s innovation and entrepreneurship to make an impact on and off campus.
After joining the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health in 1969, Dahlberg’s research on DNA and RNA led to multiple patents through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). During the biotech boom of the 1980s, Mr. Dahlberg co-founded Cambridge Biotech, and in 1993, along with University of California chemistry professor Lloyd Smith, spun out Third Wave Technologies from the University of California. Co-founded. Third Wave went public in 2001 and was sold in 2008 for $580 million. That intellectual property was then licensed by his Exact Sciences, which is now a multi-billion dollar cancer screening and diagnostics company. Dahlberg’s discoveries not only benefited countless patients, but also contributed to Madison’s status as a national center for biohealth innovation.
“Jim never forgot his commitment to a career in academic research,” said Brad Schwartz, CEO of the Morgridge Institute. “And in the process, he came up with something useful and helped make it into a company. To me, that’s academic entrepreneurship. And he proved to everyone that it’s possible.”
An inventor on 37 U.S. and international patents, Mr. Dahlberg served as a director and interim director of the Morgridge Institute and as a scientific advisor to Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle. His numerous honors include membership in the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the European Molecular Biology Organization.
Dolly McWhorter ’95
President and CEO, Metropolitan Chicago YMCA
Dorie McWhorter, a graduate of the Wisconsin School of Business, is a recognized leader in social enterprise business. As president and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, Mr. McWhirter worked to modernize membership and create partnerships with Nike and Peloton. Currently, she is building a downtown community in a mixed-income, net-zero carbon-emission apartment complex with a YMCA hub, a medical facility, a grocery store, and a business incubator on the west side. Sankofa is leading the development of her Wellness Village.
“Dorri started in the private sector,” said Molly Silverman, chief growth and engagement officer at YMCA Metro Chicago. “She has taken her expertise and entrepreneurial spirit and is now applying it to the social impact space, where we are solving some of the world’s biggest problems.”
Previously, Mr. McWhorter was a partner at the accounting firm Crowe LLP, held senior positions at Snap-on Inc. and Booz Allen Hamilton, and served as CEO of YWCA Metropolitan Chicago. She was inducted into the Chicago Innovation Hall of Fame in 2019, and she also appears in the Stephen Gyllenhaal documentary. not worthy of charity. Her civic and philanthropic leadership includes her roles as a board member of Common Impact, 1871 (Technology Business Accelerator) and the Wisconsin School of Business External Advisory Board.
