Brian Kreiter

Brian Kreiter is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Braidwell, a life science-focused investment firm he established with Alex Karnal, former co-portfolio manager and managing director at Deerfield Management. Braidwell provides capital and partnership to healthcare companies at all stages of development and across public, private, and structured capital markets. The firm launched its flagship fund with $3.5 billion of capital and is based in Stamford, Connecticut. Braidwell advises approximately $4.98 billion in regulatory assets under management. The firm’s flagship hedge fund has posted a 28% gross return, reflecting an increased focus on artificial intelligence applications in the healthcare sector. In addition to investment activities, Kreiter co-founded Braidwell Labs, which conducts bench-side due diligence and operates as a discovery and launch engine for new technologies and medicines.

Before founding Braidwell, Kreiter held leadership roles at Bridgewater Associates, an investment management firm. He served as chief operating officer, overseeing operations for a manager of more than $150 billion for governments, central banks, pension funds, endowments, and foundations. At Bridgewater, Kreiter co-developed the firm’s sustainable investing effort and was a member of the board of directors, serving as chair of its governance committee. In previous roles, he served as chief of staff to founder Ray Dalio and as department head of client service, overseeing commercial activities and consultative advice. He also served as department head of investment research, collaborating with the firm’s chief investment officers to develop systematic, signal-based investment strategies.

Kreiter served as chairman of the board of Elemental Cognition, an artificial intelligence company launched as a partnership between Bridgewater and Dr. David Ferrucci, principal investigator of IBM Watson. Earlier in his career, he was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, serving clients including alternative investment managers. Kreiter holds a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and was selected as a member of the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute Finance Leaders Fellowship, a program designed to inspire senior finance leaders to shape the global finance industry through values-based leadership across sectors such as pensions, endowments, asset management, and impact investing.

Kreiter’s commitment to social impact includes co-founding LIFT, a national organization that helps families break the cycle of poverty, for which he and his co-founder received the National Jefferson Award for Public Service. He also co-founded NeighborShare, a technology-driven nonprofit that enables frontline workers to connect donors with families in need. Kreiter’s career demonstrates a conviction that investment discipline and social purpose are compatible and mutually reinforcing, positioning him as a voice in healthcare innovation, impact investing, and values-driven leadership.