Q&A with Amy Burr, managing director of operations and partnerships, JetBlue Technology Ventures
Bonny Simi, an adviser and founder of JetBlue Technology Ventures (JTV), the corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of airline operator JetBlue Airways, said when she was still serving as president of the unit: “I am excited and honoured to nominate Amy Burr, managing director of operations and partnerships, as Global Corporate Venturing’s Emerging Leader nominee from JTV.
“Amy was a top Rising Star last year and she has only increased her performance since then. She has done a remarkable job in 2020 to help pivot our work to support our parent company in sourcing and implementing new technologies to adapt to the challenges of covid-19.
“This includes startups in UV Technology, Health Passports, Sanitation and more. In addition, her team has supported our portfolio companies in expanding proof of concepts and implementations across the travel ecosystem. Amy is building expertise and a strong brand and reputation in the travel and VC communities and is definitely an emerging leader.”
1. First, just give us a quick overview of who you work for, what you do, and how long you have been doing it.
I am the managing director of operations and partnerships at JTV. My role is to build an ecosystem of partners and deployment opportunities for the many technologies of JTV’s portfolio companies. I focus on advancing innovation thinking and compelling value propositions throughout JetBlue and its partners. This is the essence of CVC – bringing strategic value to life. This has been my role since 2018.
2. What attracted you to CVC?
Corporate venture capital is exciting because it allows companies to utilise emerging technology to solve common business problems. At JetBlue Technology Ventures we are able to really push the envelope on innovation by leveraging travel and hospitality startups, which is a much-needed shakeup for our industry as a whole.
3. What have been your greatest successes at your unit?
A big win during my time here was the launch of our International Partnership Program, which is composed of like-minded travel providers interested in working with new technologies to enhance the industry at large. I’m also proud of growing our innovation programming for JetBlue Airways and our partners by adding new events like strategy days, demo days and innovation sprints. That aspect of our business has been really fun to grow over the past two years.
4. What have been your biggest challenges?
Our role as a corporate venture capital firm is to think about how our business can best partner with startups, but competition for time, money and resources is something that has the potential to hinder leading-edge progress in any organisation. The biggest challenge we face is ensuring that our leaders see the value in continuing to research and implement innovative solutions for things they do every day. This is the key value that a dedicated CVC operations team can bring to the parent company.
5. What is your main professional ambition for the future?
My main goal is to produce really compelling innovation content for JetBlue and our partners. Oftentimes, people want to see a solution’s success before they are willing to try it – but as a group, if we are able to embrace an element of the unknown, the better off our business will be. Success for me looks like improved programming that gets people excited about proof of concepts and trialling, while also bringing value to our portfolio companies. This defines the difference between VC and CVC.
6. What do you think all CVCs could do better to make it a stronger industry?
CVCs have traditionally struggled in two key areas: the first is that the parent company sees the value in what the firm produces. The more programming, startups and trials that a CVC can offer, the more it can prove its own value. The other piece is that it’s very important to stay relevant in the startup community by attending the right events, investing in the right startups and engaging in the right conversations. If a CVC can position their firm as a voice of expertise in the industry, it will become more relevant.
7. What are some of your corporate parent’s technology needs and corporate strategy amid the pandemic, as well as your CVC unit’s pain points?
JetBlue has been very focused throughout the covid-19 crisis on how to increase health and safety. The airline has also placed a stronger emphasis on using technology to improve the customer journey, which JTV has been able to support through researching contactless technologies such as health passports, ultraviolet cleaning and thermal scanning. From a JTV’s perspective, our biggest challenge has been continuing to help our portfolio companies remain relevant even during this challenging period for the travel industry.
8. And, finally, for colour, what did you do prior to CVC or in your spare time?
I have been creating, sourcing and implementing innovative technology, products and programmes in the travel space for the last 20 years. I caught the startup bug from joining Virgin America (VX) in 2004 as one of the original founders of the company.
I worked in various roles over my 14-year tenure at VX in areas of strategy, corporate programme leadership, commercial and revenue development and technology areas including e-commerce, reservations systems and guest products. I ended my time with the company as the VX leader of the merger integration with Alaska Airlines.
I came to VX after working at Continental Airlines in revenue management and corporate development. I earned an MBA from Moore School of Business at University of South Carolina and a bachelor of science in applied health sciences from American University in Washington DC.
