The 34 standout women in CVC on the US East Coast

Dina Samra

• Director of business development
• New York Life Ventures
• Based in New York

Sometimes it can seem that everyone in the VC world has the same background in finance and consulting. But Dina Samra didn’t let those conventions hold her back.

“The venturing world can be hard to break into. I thought that I would need an MBA to break into the VC world and I thought that there was a lot of prejudice around types of degrees that someone may have, but I was wrong,” says Dina Samra.

Samra says that rigorous networking and showing creative capabilities beyond a qualification is what has allowed her to thrive in the sector.

Samra spent four years at MassChallenge, the zero equity startup developer., where she was director of partnerships and strategic partner manager, before joining New York Life Ventures.

She has been director of business development at unit, the corporate venture arm of New York Life Insurance Company, for nearly two years.

Founded in 2012, New York Life Ventures invests in sectors from healthcare to enterprise software. It has 22 companies in its portfolio, including Brella Insurance, a US-based health insurance advisor.

Samra focuses on areas such as proptech and fintech, and aims to help startups in these fields start collaborations with large enterprises.

Samra believes that CVCs should avoid seeking out the “usual suspects” and must actively employ underrepresented groups.

“I still come across CVCs that contain ten men and one woman, so CVCs need to push themselves to get a pipeline of resumes during the hiring process to make sure more diverse backgrounds are entering our market,” she says.

Samra also believes that everyone plays a role in promoting gender diversity in the sector, including herself. “I want to open up my network and be helpful to anyone that is looking to break into the corporate venturing space, and I ask all women to do that,” she says.

She continues: “We have already made huge strides but continuing to foster an open door policy and having tough conversations will increase the number of women entering these roles.”

Andrea Chico

• Business development manager
• Ferguson Ventures
• Based in Fort Lauderdale

From the start of her career Andrea Chico, business development manager at Ferguson Ventures, has been passionate about uplifting women.

“I’m heavily involved in the women’s business resource group at Ferguson where I have had the opportunity to mentor with leaders and manage our portfolio. Having the opportunity to mentor someone in the CVC ecosystem helped me understand what it took to join corporate ventures,” says Chico.

Chico joined Ferguson, a construction industry distributor, nine years ago starting in the company’s sales department. She joined the corporation’s venture unit in 2022.

Chico says that establishing her career in corporate venturing was not smooth sailing.

“When I first became interested in the corporate venturing sector, the issue wasn’t how do I get into venture capital it was when is the right time. I knew I wanted to focus on strategy and I needed to strengthen this skill so I found a mentor who helped me,” she says.

Founded in 2018, Ferguson Ventures invests in early-stage companies focusing on startups that drive innovation in construction, property maintenance, and environmental. The firm has invested in 17 companies in its portfolio including Greyter, a Canada-based water solutions provider that raised $10m in a series B round this early this year.

As an advocator for diversity in the workplace, Chico believes that corporate venturing would benefit from a greater gender balance. “We have an opportunity to encourage and introduce diversity of thought and once we achieve that through greater conversation we will generate stronger results.”

She continues: “A rising tide lifts all boats, so continuing to advocate for women in our industry and being their biggest cheerleader is how we will encourage more women to enter into corporate venturing.”

Barbara Dalton

• Senior managing partner
• Pfizer Ventures
• Based in New York

Barbara Dalton is the senior managing partner of Pfizer’s corporate venture arm, Pfizer Ventures. The New York-based corporate venturing veteran is also the vice president of worldwide business development for Pfizer.

Established in 2004, Pfizer Ventures is a $600m unit that invests in medical companies in the US with a focus on rare diseases, oncology and vaccines. The firm has 54 startups in its portfolio and has overseen 94 company exits including Zura Bio, a US-based novel medicine developer that exited via reverse merger in 2023.

Other notable investments include drug discovery platform Jhana Therapeutics which raised $107m in 2022, and dark matter decoder Nucleome Therapeutics which raised $47.5m in a series A round in 2022.

Dalton has been running Pzifer Ventures for 16 years. She has personally managed more than 30 fund investments and 80 company investments since.

Dalton has acquired extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry having worked for ten years as president of SROne, GSK’s corporate venture fund. She later joined the $260m venture firm EuclidSR Partners as a partner in 2000 before joining Pfizer.

Dalton was listed on the GCV Powerlist in 2023 and received the Global Corporate Venturing Lifetime Achievement award in 2019.

Jenna Foger

• Senior vice president
• Alexandria Venture Investments 
• Based in New York 

Jenna Foger is senior vice president at Alexandria Venture Investments, the corporate venture arm of California-headquartered real estate company Alexandria Real Estate Equities.

Established in 1996, Alexandria Venture Investments invests in seed to growth stage companies in the healthcare, agrifood and climate innovation sectors. The unit has 158 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 358 startups, including Georgiamune, a US-based developed of dual functioning monoclonal antibodies that completed a $75m series A round this month.

Foger has been working in New York for over 15 years. She began her career as a senior consultant at Easton Associates before its acquisition by Navigant Consulting and later became an associate for Windham Venture Partners in 2013.

Foger joined Alexandria Venture Investments in 2014 and plays an active role in identifying new syndicate partners and liaising with the local life science venture community through the firm’s Seed Capital Platform. Foger was also listed in GCV’s Powerlist this year and in 2022.

Darcy Frisch

• Managing director and vice president
• Hearst Ventures 
• Based in New York

Darcy Frisch is managing director and vice president at Hearst Ventures, the subsidiary of the US-based multinational mass media conglomerate Hearst Corporation.

Launched in 1995, Hearst Ventures invests in media and entertainment industries and has 61 companies in its portfolio such as UK-based eCommerce fulfillment technology provider Huboo.

Frisch is based in New York and has held her position at Hearst Ventures for over 23 years. Her role includes being an observer on several startup boards, including the on-demand transit app, Via, and the mobile advertising platform Nexage.

Before Hearst, she was at KPMG and worked as a legislative assistant for Senator David Boren.

Allison Goldberg

• Senior vice president & managing partner
• Comcast Ventures 
• Based in New York

Allison Goldberg is senior vice president & managing partner at New York-headquartered Comcast Ventures, the corporate unit of telecommunications giant Comcast.

Founded in 1999, Comcast Ventures invests in seed to later-stage startups operating in digital health, fintech, and workforce sectors. The firm has around 129 companies in its portfolio and has invested in close to 500 startups including US-based housing and interior design website, Houzz.

Comcast Ventures has also seen close to 196 startup exits such as SundaySky, the Israeli-headquartered video creation platform that was acquired by Clearhaven Partners for over $100m+ in 2022.

Golberg has been in the venture capital business for over 20 years. She started as a venture capital associate in 2000 for the investment firm Groupe Arnault. Golberg then spent 17 years at the investment arm of Time Warner, and two years at the Touchdown Ventures.

Marie-Helene Kennedy-Payen

• Senior director of operations and community
• New York Life Ventures 
• Based in New York

Based in New York, Marie-Helene Kennedy-Payen is the senior director of operations and community at New York Life Ventures, the corporate venture capital of the insurance company New York Life.

Founded in 2012, New York Life Ventures invests in innovative technology companies from healthcare to enterprise software. The corporate unit has 22 companies in its portfolio, including DataRobot, a US-based artificial intelligence lifecycle platform that has raised $1bn in funding.

Payen joined New York Life Ventures in 2021 where she is responsible for creating and executing the communications and community strategy for the business, as well as managing the daily operational needs.

Throughout her career, Payen developed a passion for advancing women in financial services and has taken on multiple leadership roles, including acting as a Board Member for the Financial Women’s Association, a New York-headquartered female professional networking organisation dedicated to promoting the advancement of all women across the financial sector.

Coppelia Marincovic

• Partner
• Solvay Ventures 
• Based in New York

Coppelia Marincovic is a partner at Solvay Ventures, the corporate unit of the Belgium-based chemicals company, Solvay.

Founded in 2005, Solvay Ventures invests in varying sectors from commercial products to sustainable resources. They have invested in 17 companies and have 11 in their portfolio including Invizius, a spinout of the University of Edinburgh that has developed complement therapies to treat kidney diseases.

Based in New York, Marincovic has been a part of Solvay Ventures for seven years starting as the firm’s investment manager for North America. She then was promoted to her current position in April 2022 where is has personally overseen three exits, such as Multimechanics which was acquired by Siemens.

Voted as one of GCV’s Emerging Leaders in 2023, Marincovic was previously an engagement manager at McKinsey focusing on pharmaceutical and chemicals companies. She also worked as a senior consultant at Next47-backed sustainability organisation Thinkstep.

Marian Nakada

• Vice president of venture investments
• JJDC
• Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Marian Nakada is the vice president of venture investments at Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, the corporate venture firm of US-based pharmaceutical conglomerate, Johnson & Johnson.

Founded in 1973, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC invests in startups typically in the seed to series A stage. They seek out companies focusing on pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer healthcare sectors.

The firm has 114 startups in its portfolio and has invested in close to 500 companies. JJDC startups have achieved more than 180 startup exits, one of the most notable if which was Syndesi Therapeutics which was acquired by AbbVie for $1bn in 2022.

Nakada has been at JJDC for nearly 11 years. Her focus is on venture investments on the East Coast and she works closely with the Boston Innovation Center.

Before JJDC she was at Janssen, Johnson & Johnson’s daughter company as a strategy, operations and external innovation lead. Nakada also spent eight years at another Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, Centocor as a senior director of business development and senior director in oncology research.

Marie-Christine Razaire

• Principal
• Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures
• Based in New York 

Marie-Christine Razaire, who is based in New York, is the principal at Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, the corporate arm of financial services company, Northwestern Mutual.

Founded in 2017, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures invests in sectors ranging from digital health to finance. The unit has 31 startups in its portfolio and has invested in 53 other companies, including homecare services provider The Helper Bees which secured a series B funding round in 2022.

Razaire joined Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures in 2019 as an associate before progressing to her current position last year. Prior to this, she spent a year as a scouting manager at US-based insurance company, State Farm, and spent three years at another insurance company, Validus Group, where she held positions such as innovation team manager and fintech underwriter.

Madison Rezaei

• Head
• Verizon Ventures
• Based in

Madison Rezaei is the head of the New Jersey-based corporate unit Verizon Ventures, a subsidiary of the telecommunications conglomerate, Verizon Communications. She also serves as the company’s vice president of new business strategy.

Founded in 2000, Verizon Ventures finances early stage companies innovating the telecommunications, media and consumer sectors. The firm has 58 companies in its portfolio.

Rezaei joined Verizon two years ago and was listed on the GCV Powerlist this year.

Before Verizon, she spent eight years as a director at Altman Solon, a Boston headquartered telecommunications and media consulting firm. During her time there, she led the Women in Technology group to promote the entry of women into the male-dominated tech sector.

Dina Routhier

• President
• Stanley Ventures
• Based in Boston

Dina Routhier is the president of Stanley Ventures, the corporate subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker, the US-based industrial tool manufacturer. 

Founded in 2016, Stanley Ventures is a $100m venture fund that invests in IT and industrial sectors such as SaaS, construction technology and advanced materials startups. The corporate arm has 36 startups in its portfolio and has invested in over 55 companies. 

Stanley Ventures has overseen nine exits, with the most notable being VizExplorer, the US-based business intelligence casino gaming industry platform that was acquired by Dry Line Partners earlier this year. 

Routhier has been working in the Boston region for over 20 years. Before joining Stanley Ventures in 2017 she was director of corporate development of corporate venture capital for five years at Autodesk, the US-based software corporation where she executed over $135m in acquisitions. 

Michelle Russey McCarthy

• Managing director
• Verizon Ventures
• Based in New Jersey

Michelle Russey McCarthy is the managing director of Verizon Ventures the corporate unit of the telecommunications conglomerate, Verizon Communication.

Founded in 2000, Verizon Ventures finances early stage companies innovating the telecommunications, media and consumer sectors. The firm has 58 companies in its portfolio and has made 179 investments in startups.

Verizon Ventures has overseen 61 startup exits such as US-based machine learning technology developer AdTheorent which exited via IPO and listed on NASDAQ in 2021, and Israel-based imaging software solutions provider Beamr Imaging which exited via IPO on NASDAQ this year.

Based in New Jersey, McCarthy is a Verizon veteran having worked for the corporation for 28 years. She joined the company in 1995 as the manager of corporate strategy and held other positions such as head of LIHTC Investments and portfolio management and director of corporate strategy, development, and planning.

She has a Masters in Finance from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and a Bachelors degree in International Studies and German from American University.

Madelyn Rutter

• Senior director of collaboration
• TechNexus Venture Collaborative 
• Based in Chicago

Madelyn Rutter is the senior director of collaboration at TechNexus Venture Collaborative, a Chicago-headquartered corporate venture capital firm.

TechNexus Venture Collaborative was founded in 2007 and invests in early stage companies in the audio consumer electronics, health and mobility sectors. The firm has 114 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 229 companies such as video relationship management platform Gather Voices.

Rutter has worked for TechNexus Venture Collaborative for four years, starting as the unit’s senior manager of collaboration before being promoted to her current position in April this year. She also spent a decade at Kantar, a marketing data and analytics company where she held positions including director of early stage qualitative innovation and senior director of innovation. Rutter was named as one of the Global Corporate Venturing Rising Stars in 2023.

Kathryn Scheckel

• Managing director
• Hines Global Venture Lab
• Based in New York

Kathryn Scheckel is the managing director at Hines Global Ventures, the New York-based corporate venture arm of the real estate developer Hines Interests. 

Founded earlier this year, Hines Global Ventures invests in emerging real estate technologies, businesses and technologies that directly solve the greatest challenges facing our industry and our environment.

Hines Global Ventures’ enterprise includes a venture studio where they incubate and accelerate new ideas, an investment platform designed to invest in promising startups, and a partnerships arm to catalyze built-world technology solutions. The firm’s three thematic areas of focus include the evolving use of physical space, revolutionary built-world technologies, and next-generation ESG solutions. 

Scheckel started working at Hines in 2019 working across various roles in strategy and innovation. Before joining Hines Scheckel was a management consultant at McKinsey. 

She has a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts from Arizona State University.

Fei Shen

• Managing director 
• Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund USA
• Based in Massachusetts

Fei Shen, who is based in Massachusetts, is the managing director at Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund USA, the corporate subsidiary of US-based pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation.

Established in 2010, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund USA is a $326m fund that invests in therapeutic and digital healthcare startups focusing on immuno-oncology, gene therapy and the microbiome. The fund has 41 companies in its portfolio.

The fund has also overseen 17 startup exits such as Hookipa Pharma which exited via IPO for $75m on NASDAQ.

Shen joined Boehringer Ingelheim in 2015 as a senior principal scientist in immunology and respiratory research before joining the corporation’s venture fund in 2020 as the investment director.

Prior to this, Shen spent eight years at Theravance Biopharma, a US-based biopharmaceutical company, where she held positions such as scientist in the pharmacology department. She was also listed as one of GCV’s 50 Emerging Leaders in 2023 where her ambitions to create new medications and improve patients’ lives garnered her recognition.

Laura Veroneau

• Managing partner
• Optum Ventures  
• Based in Boston

Laura Veroneau is the managing partner and founding team member at Optum Ventures, the corporate venture capital of US-based healthcare services provider Optum.

The venture unit was launched in 2017 and typically invests in digital health and other healthcare related sectors. The firm has around 50 companies in its portfolio and has invested in close to 100 startups, including UAE-based digital healthcare platform for chronic condition management, Alma Health which raised $10m in a series A round this year.

Optum Ventures has also overseen over 11 startup exits, with its most notable being the Hayward headquartered pharmacy telehealth solutions connector Trupill, which was acquired by UK digital pharmacy group Phlo Technologies after reaching unicorn status in 2021 with a $1.6bn valuation.

Veroneau has been a part of the Optum Ventures team for over six years, starting off as the firm’s principal. Listed on GCV’s 2023 Powerlist, she personally led notable investments such as US-based social service network provider Unite Us, which raised $195.6m.

Before Optum Ventures, Veroneau spent a year at UnitedHealth Group working in their corporate strategy team. She also worked for two years as manager of product development at Dovetail Health, a US-based tailored medications solutions platform. and sits on the board of overseers for Brighman and Women’s Hospital.

Deborah Zajac

• Director
• Touchdown Ventures
• Based in New York

Deborah Zajac is a director at Touchdown Ventures, the US-based corporate venture capital unit and venture capital-as-a-service (VCaaS) firm. 

Launched in 2014, Touchdown Ventures partners with corporations to invest in early and growth-stage companies focusing on sectors ranging from IT to media. The firm has 83 startups in its portfolio including the US-based text summarisation software developer Agolo. 

Notable investments include Gooten, a print-on-demand company headquartered in New York. Gooten closed its $11m series A round last month with participation from global manufacturer INX International and venture firm KEC Ventures.

Based in New York, Zajac has been Touchdown’s director for over seven years. She previously was the senior director for three years at GE Ventures, the corporate unit of US-based conglomerate, General Electric.