John C Kerr

John Kerr is a co-founder of Texas Next Capital and its affiliate, Acacia Capital Fund. He is also a Principal of Moorman Kerr Interests, a family investment office with a diversified investment portfolio, and has extensive experience as an investor and entrepreneur in the biotechnology sector. He founded and serves as Chairman of Azaya Therapeutics, Inc., which is developing novel anti-cancer drugs, as well as Evestra, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on women’s healthcare. John also serves as vice-chair of the Investment Committee of San Antonio Capital & Trust LLC, an asset manager. John began his career as a securities lawyer, as a partner in the Houston law firm Andrews & Kurth and later with Cox & Smith in San Antonio. In the 1980s he was Chairman and CEO of American Century Corp., a New York Stock Exchange-listed financial services company. In 1990 he formed Kerr Connors & Co., an investment firm, and later worked with Harris Webb & Garrison, an investment banking firm. John is extensively involved in the non-profit and charitable sector, as a member of the board of trustees of Texas Biomedical Research Institute, where he served as Chairman for nine years and as President from 2006 to 2008. In addition, he serves on the boards of directors of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, which oversees the National Museum of the Pacific War, the McNay Art Museum, the Menninger Clinic Foundation, the Texas Research & Technology Foundation, and the San Antonio Medical Foundation. He served as Chairman of the Texas Public Finance Authority, the bond issuing authority for the State of Texas, from 1995 to 1998 and 2000 to 2003. He a member of the three-person Distribution Committee of the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, the largest in San Antonio, and is Chair of the Texas Advisory Board of the Environmental Defense Fund. John is a graduate of Stanford University with an AB in History and received his JD from The University of Texas Law School.