Owen
McCarthy.

I grew up in Patten, Maine, the son of a third-generation logger and a second-generation lunch lady. I was the first person in my family to graduate from college, earning a degree in Biological Engineering from the University of Maine and later an MBA from Harvard Business School.

My wife, Holly, and I have two children, Oliver and Theodore. I’m deeply committed to leaving the next generation more opportunity than we inherited.

For the last fifteen years, I’ve focused on building. Companies, technologies, and opportunities that improve people’s lives. I care about solving hard problems, taking risks, and leaving things better than I found them.

I co-founded MedRhythms, a healthcare technology company that delivered the world’s first FDA-regulated, clinically validated, and insurance-reimbursed prescription music therapeutic. We raised more than $60 million in venture capital, built a team in Maine, ran more than 10 successful clinical trials, and brought two products through the FDA. We also created a new Medicare code, establishing a reimbursement pathway for an entirely new category of care.

I signed biotech-style licensing deals totaling more than $120 million and built partnerships with organizations including Biogen, Bose, and Universal Music Group.

I’m proud of what we built at MedRhythms. I’m also proud that we built it in Maine. It’s part of why I believe so strongly in what entrepreneurs can do here, and why I want to help more of them build.

That commitment has taken me beyond healthcare and into higher education, rural development, and public service. I’ve served on boards, supported entrepreneurs, and worked to create more opportunity for the next generation. Today, that includes serving on the board of Junior Achievement of Maine.

I also ran for Governor of Maine, bringing my experience as an entrepreneur and builder to public service.

Through Maine 2040, I continue to advance a long-term vision for our state: more opportunity, greater affordability, and an economy that can compete and grow. I believe Maine has an extraordinary future. Building it will take vision, discipline, innovation, and people willing to do the work.

I founded McCarthy Life Sciences to help shorten the path from innovation to patients. Its first practice, McCarthy Market Access, provides fixed-price reimbursement strategy for medical device companies.

Today, I’m focused on AI and healthcare, supporting entrepreneurs, and developing future leaders. My work also includes First Light Defense, a defense innovation consortium advancing the defense innovation industry in Maine. We’re living through extraordinary technological change. I want to help turn that change into better care, stronger companies, and more opportunity in Maine and across the country.

I remain deeply optimistic. There is a lot of work ahead, and I want to do it with people who are ready to build. If you’re starting a company, working on a hard problem, or have an idea for Maine’s future, I’d like to hear from you.