John Banta is vice president, National Employee Benefits Administration (NEBA) and Blue Venture Fund for the BlueCross and BlueShield Association (BCBSA), a national federation of independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. 

In this role, Banta serves as president and managing director of BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners—the corporate venture fund complex serving 34 BlueCross BlueShield Plans and other licensees with over $1B in assets under management—and as president of the fund’s General Partner. Banta is also responsible for oversight for NEBA, a $15B multi-employer benefits program serving over 96,000 members. In addition to leading the Blue Venture Fund and NEBA teams and strategies, Banta is responsible for overseeing the National Retirement Trust and National 401(k) programs, as well as the ongoing development and implementation of leading-edge investment activity on behalf of the National Employee Benefits Committee (NEBC), Blue Venture Fund’s Boards of Managers and BCBSA senior management. 

Prior to joining BCBSA in 2014, Banta served as CEO and managing director of IllinoisVentures, the premier seed and early-stage technology venture firm, which was consistently recognized as one of Entrepreneur’s Top 100 Venture Firms. Banta began his career with the investment banks Kidder Peabody and UBS. 

Banta earned an M.B.A. in finance and statistics with high honors from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Illinois. He serves or has served or observed on the Boards of numerous early and growth stage businesses and founded several as well. He also serves or has served on the Board of Directors of the Innovation and Value Initiative, the Advisory Board of the National Alliance for Social Determinants of Health, the Board of Visitors of University of Maryland College of Pharmacy, the Illinois Venture Capital Association, and the Midwest Governors Association Advisory Council. Banta has also been recognized as a member of the Global Corporate Venture Power List 100 since 2017.