Aegis Ventures has appointed digital health executive and community builder Bunny Ellerin as chief ecosystem officer, a move that signals the venture studio’s intent to deepen its founder network and strengthen ties across the broader healthcare market. The New York-based firm said Ellerin will help connect entrepreneurs, operators, health systems, payers, and life sciences partners as Aegis continues building AI-native healthcare companies. The appointment also brings into Aegis one of the more visible organizers in New York’s health innovation scene, where Ellerin has spent years building institutions, events, and industry relationships.
The Appointment
In the newly created role, Ellerin is expected to oversee founder and ecosystem development from end to end, with responsibilities spanning talent sourcing, relationship building, and event-driven community strategy. Aegis said she will work on expanding its entrepreneur-in-residence and operator network while also formalizing how the firm tracks sourcing, engagement, and ecosystem impact across its platform. The mandate reflects a view that venture creation in healthcare increasingly depends not only on capital and technology, but also on trusted partnerships that can accelerate company formation and commercial traction.
Ellerin’s Track Record
Ellerin joins Aegis after serving as co-founder and chief executive of Digital Health New York, or DHNY, an organization that has become a central convening point for the city’s healthcare startup community. Under her leadership, DHNY expanded its annual summit, built the New York Digital Health 100 into a recognized industry benchmark, and published the New York Healthcare Innovation Report, which tracks funding patterns, market shifts, and sector sentiment. Public materials from DHNY and other industry coverage show that her work has consistently focused on turning New York’s fragmented healthcare stakeholders into a more connected innovation network.
Why the Move Matters
The hire comes at a time when healthcare innovation is being shaped as much by ecosystem design as by product development, especially in AI where deployment often requires close coordination with providers, payers, and enterprise buyers. DHNY’s own recent reporting highlighted renewed funding momentum in New York digital health and pointed to strategic partnerships as a key factor in building durable companies, making Ellerin’s move to a venture studio focused on company creation particularly notable. In that context, her appointment can be read as an effort by Aegis to institutionalize relationship-building as a core operating function rather than treating it as a byproduct of investing.
Broader Industry Context
The announcement also follows a recent leadership transition at DHNY, where Ellerin moved into the role of board chair as Amanda Kanaga became chief executive, suggesting that her shift to Aegis is part of a broader handoff rather than a departure from the ecosystem she helped build. Public posts tied to that transition described DHNY as a major force in New York’s rise as a digital health center, reinforcing the standing Ellerin brings into her new position. For Aegis, that background could prove valuable as competition intensifies for high-quality founders and as venture platforms look for differentiated ways to support company building beyond financing alone.
For Aegis Ventures, the appointment is less a conventional executive hire than a statement about how the firm believes health technology companies will be built in the next phase of the market. By bringing in a leader known for convening founders, investors, and healthcare institutions, the firm is betting that network strength and execution discipline will matter as much as novel technology in translating AI ambition into operating businesses. Ellerin’s arrival therefore stands out as a strategically timed move that links Aegis’s venture-building model with one of the strongest relationship platforms in New York healthcare innovation.