Christopher “Chris” Brandt is Chief Executive Officer of UpSurge Baltimore, the innovation and entrepreneurship division of the Greater Baltimore Committee, where he leads efforts to translate the region’s research, talent, and institutional strengths into high-growth companies, investment, and economic opportunity. An entrepreneur, investor, and healthcare technology executive, he brings more than two decades of experience building and scaling businesses and connecting innovation with measurable impact.
At UpSurge, Brandt works to strengthen collaboration among entrepreneurs, investors, research institutions, healthcare systems, corporations, and government. His priorities include activating the region’s anchor institutions, expanding access to capital, strengthening commercialization pathways, and connecting growing companies with major customers and strategic partners. He also serves on GBC’s Executive Committee, helping align UpSurge’s innovation strategy with the region’s broader economic development agenda.
Brandt founded and led Audacious Inquiry, a Baltimore-based healthcare technology company that grew to connect more than 1,100 hospitals and support care coordination for more than 75 million patients nationwide. Under his leadership, the company transitioned from a consulting business to a recurring-revenue software platform, attracted institutional growth investment, and ranked among the fastest-growing companies in the United States for ten consecutive years. Its acquisition by PointClickCare in March 2022 marked a significant milestone for Baltimore’s technology economy.
As a founder and chief executive, Brandt combined commercial growth with a commitment to community benefit. Audacious Inquiry became one of Maryland’s early certified B Corporations, embedding social responsibility into its business approach. He built the company around collaboration among policy specialists, software engineers, healthcare organizations, and public agencies—experience that informs his approach to connecting institutions and entrepreneurs across the innovation economy.
Brandt is also Managing Director of Audacious Capital, a socially conscious investment platform with more than $100 million in assets under management focused on healthcare, technology, and innovation. Through this work, he partners with founders and investors to build enduring businesses guided by the belief that financial performance and meaningful social impact can reinforce one another.
His board service includes ShiftMed/Homecare.com, b.well Connected Health, the Aspen Institute’s Health Innovators Fellowship, and University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center. An Aspen Health Innovators Fellow and member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, he was also recognized as an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Maryland award recipient in 2014.