EnBW New Ventures managing director Crispin Leick talks about why CVCs should focus on financial performance and become limited partners in other funds.
For Crispin Leick, managing director of EnBW New Ventures, a passion for energy technology came early in life, and was supercharged later when he became a father and saw his time horizons change from years to generations ahead.
As head of the corporate venturing unit for German energy generation and utility company EnBW, Leick and his team focus on three main investment areas: electrification, digitalisation and decentralisation of the energy system.
He joined me on the podcast to talk about EnBW’s approach to these areas and how the energy investment landscape has changed, particularly in the context of the European energy industry.
We also dove into a number of learnings he has taken as he embarks on his 15th year as a CVC investor. We talk about why he advocates for an evergreen fund structure – the reasons for which go far beyond just the ability to be patient with one’s capital – as well as the value that CVCs can get from taking LP positions in other funds, why he believes CVCs should focus primarily on the financial end of the spectrum, and perhaps most interestingly, why he believes – unlike many other CVC practitioners – that corporate venturing units would do well to report to a CFO.
Listen to the full conversation here or wherever you get your podcasts:
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Fernando Moncada Rivera
Fernando Moncada Rivera is a reporter at Global Corporate Venturing and also host of the CVC Unplugged podcast.
