Ernest Waaser

Ernest Waaser is an Operating Partner at Linden Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm focused exclusively on healthcare. Linden says its operating partners are senior executives from large healthcare companies and are involved in sourcing, oversight, growth, and portfolio-company board service.

Waaser is a veteran medical-products operator. According to Linden, he spent the first 18 years of his career at DuPont across multiple business units and functions. He later held senior healthcare leadership roles including Chief Executive Officer of Systagenix, President of Teleflex Medical, President and CEO of Hill-Rom, and Chief Operating Officer of Sterling Diagnostic Imaging, a leveraged buyout of DuPont’s medical imaging assets.

Most recently before Linden, Waaser served as Chief Executive Officer of NuSil Technology, a manufacturer of specialty silicones for life sciences and advanced technology applications, where Linden says he led the business to significant growth and a successful merger in late 2016. He currently serves on the board of Flexan and has served on the boards of NuSil, Systagenix, and AdvaMed.

Waaser holds a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from Mississippi State University and an M.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Carolina.

• Linden is not an angel/seed investor based on the verified sources; it is a healthcare-focused private equity firm investing in middle-market healthcare companies.
• Linden describes its strategy as based on “healthcare specialization, integrated private equity and operating expertise, and its differentiated human capital program.”
• The firm’s stated approach is to “Focus, Partner, Invest,” with operating partners actively involved in stewardship and company-building.
• Sector focus includes healthcare services, products, and distribution, with representative areas such as medical devices, diagnostics, contract manufacturing, specialty pharmaceuticals, pharma services, HCIT, behavioral health, physician groups, payor services, pharmacy services, and specialty distribution.
• Waaser’s own operating background is strongest in medical products, medical devices, specialty materials, diagnostics/imaging, wound care, and healthcare manufacturing.
• Linden’s Structured Capital Fund II invests in middle-market healthcare companies through securities with debt- and equity-like features.