Our Story
AssetBlue Investment Group is a single-family office founded in 2016 by Mark and Nasrin Thierer. As experienced entrepreneurs and operators, Mark and Nasrin enjoyed successful careers as executives in the healthcare and technology industries, respectively. They each guided their companies to successful exits and subsequently founded the family office and Thierer Family Foundation.
AssetBlue Investment Group oversees a diversified investment portfolio of public and private investments and serves as the Accounting, Finance, HR, and Management arm of the family’s various businesses and philanthropic efforts. It also serves as the “incubation hub” for new business opportunities where the family takes a control position.
Our Businesses & Interests
Thierer Family Foundation’s mission is to increase the impact of nonprofits in the fields of food insecurity, shelter & human services, and arts & culture by helping them leverage technology to be more effective, efficient, and sustainable.
Mark and Jonathon Thierer partnered to co-found Waltz Health, a digital health company in the pharmaceutical space. With a senior team of industry veterans and backing from leading venture firms including Google Ventures, Waltz seeks to fundamentally rewire the pharmaceutical supply chain, improve pricing transparency, and lower drug prices for all.
After years of partnering with and building technology for food banks and pantries, Nasrin Thierer founded and launched Vivery technology to equalize access to nutritious food and other food services for everyone, regardless of location or circumstance.
Vivery Community is a public charity established by Nasrin Thierer to scale access to nutritious food and benefits by providing Vivery technology to every food bank and pantry at no cost. In addition, Vivery Community partners with local communities and organizations to fund innovative food access programs.
Areas of Focus
AssetBlue Investment Group makes investments in diversified industries including healthcare, technology, food, aerospace, retail, and real estate, among others. A small team of experienced entrepreneurs, operators, and investors, AssetBlue is a “best ideas” investment group and won’t turn down a great opportunity to satisfy a specific asset class percentage target. We concentrate in what we know and diversify in what we don’t.
We invest in the following ways:
Publics
We believe in the long-term growth of public markets and are fundamentally multi-generational investors. Investing across a variety of sectors and geographies, we access the public markets primarily through low-cost, passive investments with an active management overlay.
Privates
With patient capital, we believe in the ability of certain sectors and managers in private markets to outperform their public counterparts over time. We seek top-tier fund managers focused on Venture Capital, Growth Equity, Private Equity, Private Credit, and Real Estate & Infrastructure.
Directs
Entrepreneurs at heart, we support business builders at all stages of growth both professionally and personally. Our strong relationships with Fund managers often lead to Direct and Co-Investment opportunities with companies and visionary founders who are solving important problems in our industries of focus. Investments are made as early as Seed Stage and grow alongside the businesses and entrepreneurs.
Team
Mark Thierer
Mark Thierer has more than 30 years of experience leading organizations to financial and operational success in the healthcare industry. He is co-founder and CEO of Waltz Health, a digital health disruptor in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Previously, Mark oversaw pharmacy care services as CEO of OptumRx following the company’s merger with Catamaran, where he was chairman and CEO. Mark also served as interim CEO of Dentsply Sirona. Earlier in his career, Mark was president, CEO and chairman of SXC Health Solutions. He also was president of Physicians Interactive, a corporate officer with CaremarkRx (now CVS Caremark), and served in sales management positions with the health industry division of IBM. Mark holds professional memberships in the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, National Council for Prescription Drug Programs, Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. He serves as chairman of Eversana and director of Discover Financial Services and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Minnesota, a master’s in business administration from Nova Southeastern University, and has earned the Certified Employee Benefits Specialist designation.
Nasrin Thierer
Nasrin Thierer is an innovative leader and experienced entrepreneur with a proven track record of building businesses that leverage technology to address unique marketplace challenges. Her 22-year career at Motorola had her chartering new paths, leading strategic initiatives, and starting new businesses, including Motorola’s first consumer 2-way radio.</p> <p>After leaving Motorola, she became a successful entrepreneur launching many companies from the ground up, and most recently served as CEO and Chairman of the Board at Revenew, Inc., a cloud-based marketing automation platform which was acquired in 2016.</p> <p>After this successful exit, Nasrin was able to pivot to a more personal goal of using her experience and expertise to give back in a meaningful way, which led her and her husband, Mark, to establish Thierer Family Foundation, a Chicago-based organization focused on using technology to help nonprofits increase their impact.</p> <p>Over the years, as they got more involved in the food insecurity space, they saw the opportunity and need to help bridge the digital divide in the charitable food distribution system. In 2021, Nasrin launched Vivery, a robust technology solution to help equalize access to food and other services, for everyone. Vivery has currently been adopted by all food banks in Illinois and plans for nationwide expansion are underway.</p> <p>Additionally, Nasrin is a Managing Partner at Assetblue Investment Group, a local investment firm which she formed with her husband, Mark. She serves on the boards of Lyric Opera, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Greater Chicago Food Depository, and chairs the Ryan Opera Center Board.</p> <p>Nasrin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Design from University of Tennessee and a Master’s in Business Administration in Marketing and Finance from Nova Southeastern University.
Jonathon Thierer
Jonathon brings a decade of Pharmacy Benefit Management and Pharmacy Services experience to AssetBlue Investment Group. He currently leads the product team at Waltz Health, a digital health company he co-founded with his father Mark, that is dedicated to rewiring the prescription drug industry and delivering savings to patients and payors.</p> <p>As a leading Data Scientist in Pharmacoeconomics, he has built and deployed multiple artificial intelligence platforms, cumulatively managing over $1.35B in drug spend annually and delivering $100M in margin to payors and providers. While at OptumRx he ran the technology development program and network management for health plans.</p> <p>Jonathon has also spent time at Eversana and Cedar Gate where he built pharmacy analytics platforms for managing pharmacy costs in Value Based Care arrangements.</p> <p>Jonathon sits on the board of the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago as their Treasurer.</p> <p>He received his Bachelor of Arts from the Manhattan School of Music as well as his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Jonathon currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Karina.
Stephanie Thierer
Stephanie is a healthcare professional with a decade of experience focused on enabling digital solutions that simplify complexities in healthcare. She is currently a Product Management Director at Elevance Health in the Carelon Digital Platforms organization. Previously, she worked in Consumer Strategy for UnitedHealthcare, focused on improving the healthcare experience for the Medicaid population. Also, she spent time in the Employer and Individual organization managing the product development pipeline.</p> <p>Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Boston University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.</p> <p>Stephanie lives in Lakeview with her husband Connor and their dog, Reece.
Sam Gillespie
Sam Gillespie has spent his entire career advising some of the world’s wealthiest families on how to manage their multi-generational wealth. He is Chief Investment Officer at AssetBlue Investment Group, investing a diversified portfolio of public and private investments for several generations of the Thierer family. He oversees the family’s interests in business and philanthropy and manages a team of over 20 professionals working to carry out the long-term vision of the office. Sam also serves as Chief Financial Officer of the Thierer Family Foundation and Vivery guiding the financial operations and controls.</p> <p>Prior to AssetBlue, Sam spent nearly a decade at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. As a Banker in the family office groups in both New York and Chicago, Sam managed the overall interactions between his clients’ needs and the firm’s resources in investments, trust and estate planning, philanthropy, lending, banking, private business advisory, and specialty services. Managing over $6B in assets and a $1B loan portfolio, he leveraged J.P. Morgan’s Asset & Wealth Management, Investment Bank, and Commercial Bank businesses to seamlessly advise families on their closely held assets. A native of Kentucky, Sam built the Equine Owners & Breeders Vertical for families with large equine operations growing to over 250 clients involved in the industry. He also served as the youngest ever elected member of the Kentucky Market Leadership Team coordinating the firm’s cross-line-of-business approach to the state.</p> <p>Sam’s significant experience working directly with some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs and business people led to his passion for operating and investing directly in businesses. He graduated summa cum laude and was a Charles F. Haywood Scholar at the University of Kentucky and received his Master of Science in Finance (MSF) from Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management. He lives in Wilmette with his wife and two children.
Mitch Poss
Mitch Poss brings 5 years of professional experience to AssetBlue Investment Group where he is currently a Senior Investment Associate. In this role, he provides support for all investing activities of the family office including directs, co-investments, and fund investing. He also assists with the Thierer Family Foundation and Vivery.</p> <p>Prior to joining AssetBlue, Mitch worked at TripleTree, a Healthcare focused M&A Investment Bank, where he advised healthcare companies through acquisitions, recapitalizations, and strategic advisory services. Mitch has advised on over $2B+ in total transaction value, mainly focused on provider and payor technology solutions. Additionally, he supported TripleTree's new business developments, client engagement, financial analysis, industry research, and various transaction execution activities.</p> <p>His previous experience also includes working at Ernst & Young in their Assurance practice, serving public and private clients in the retail, manufacturing, and life science industries.</p> <p>He received both a B.A. and M.S. in Accounting from the University of St. Thomas where he played collegiate basketball. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA, Inactive). Mitch currently lives in Lincoln Park.