Children's Wisconsin

Children's Wisconsin

Children's Wisconsin operates as a non-profit pediatric health system with an investment office that deploys an endowment portfolio across venture capital and direct investments. The organization traces its roots back to the late 19th century, serving as Wisconsin's primary pediatric referral center. Its investment function, led by Kaitie Gannett alongside President Gil Peri and Board Co-Chair Patrick Hammes, operates from the system's Milwaukee headquarters, with additional clinical and administrative assets in Neenah and Wauwatosa. The investment strategy favors venture capital, focusing on direct company stakes that align with the system's healthcare mandate. Gannett's background at Mason Wells — a Milwaukee-based private equity firm — creates a direct co-investment pipeline; Mason Wells appears as a recurring co-investor. While exact portfolio companies remain private, the geographic footprint concentrates on Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest, with a small allocation to Central American and Caribbean opportunities. Asset classes include venture capital, direct private equity, and real estate tied to the system's own physical plant, including the Milwaukee hospital and the Children's Research Institute. Children's Wisconsin anchors its operations through a clinical partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin, forming an academic and research corridor that feeds into its investment thesis in pediatric innovation. The system's built assets exceed five hospital and commercial properties across eastern Wisconsin. In a notable governance move, the organization maintains a joint investment and operational relationship with the Children's Wisconsin Foundation, which serves as the philanthropic fundraising arm. The structural differentiator is Gannett's dual lineage: she operates as a mission-driven allocator inside a non-profit while leveraging a private-equity playbook shaped by her prior career. This hybrid posture — health system endowment investing like a family office — enables direct deal access alongside external GPs, a configuration rare among standalone hospital investment offices.