Lauren Gates serves as a Vice President for Business Development for the Direct Investments division at Leon Capital Group. With an emphasis on healthcare, she is responsible for sourcing platform acquisitions, transaction structuring, strategy execution, and driving organic and inorganic growth within Leon Capital’s portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Leon Capital, Ms. Gates was at PetWell Partners, a Houston-based veterinary support organization. While at PetWell, she launched and led the business development team by growing the platform across 8 states by cultivating relationships, evaluating investment opportunities, and implementing strategic initiatives. Prior to joining PetWell Partners, Ms. Gates had various roles in diagnostics and pharmaceutical companies identifying key growth opportunities, promoting product growth, and fulfilling customer needs. Ms. Gates graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.