Economic downturns have a way of clarifying the order of priorities.
First order is can you afford or do you need to do venturing to deliver on your strategic and financial goals. If yes, what is the team that will carry you through the next cycle and iteration?
The data from the first half of the year was clear. Corporations increasingly value the optionality, insights and returns venture can bring. A record number of new corporate investors allied to established CVCs investing in new deals as well as portfolio companies point to maturity and recognition the ecosystem as a whole is better together.
To the second point, the natural change in personnel each year seems to be being heightened by a super-cycle effect as units rotate in the next generation.
Last Monday’s editorial, Slowdown, what slowdown?, referenced a number of senior management retirements, such as Jon Lauckner from General Motors ventures and David Gilmour from BP Ventures. The summer will see more, including the impending departure of Michael Redding from Accenture Ventures, and the promotion of the next generation of leaders, including Thomas Kostka taking on the head of corporate venturing title at Germany-based Altana.
What seems most exciting for the ecosystem is all are increasingly keen to stay connected to the corporate and venturing world. Lauckner, Gilmour and Redding and the others will be staying involved in the ecosystem and part of the Global Corporate Venturing community even if they broaden their support to other venture firms and startups as appropriate.
There is a huge amount of institutional knowledge that can only be gained with experience as Allstate Strategic Ventures has found after hiring Reese Schroeder after bringing the local Chicago ecosystem together. Joining this wisdom with the driving, dynamic leadership of Tarik Galijasevic and a strong team and is a recipe for long-term success.
As Suren Gupta, executive vice-president of Allstate, in nominating Galijasevic to the GCV Powerlist 2020 awards, to be announced at the next GCV Digital Forum 2.0 on 29 September, said: “Allstate Strategic Ventures is an important part of Allstate’s innovation strategy. Our team has connected Allstate’s business units with promising startups, which has led to some key partnerships that created value for Allstate. I am proud of the team’s global recognition and [its] leadership in the Chicago corporate venture capital community.”
