Top 50 Emerging Leaders 2022 (in alphabetical order by CVC unit): Priyanka Mitra and James Wu, principals, M12
Priyanka Mitra and James Wu are principals at M12, the corporate venturing unit of software provider Microsoft.
Mony Hassid, a managing director at M12, said of Mitra: “Priyanka is a valued member of M12’s investment team. She is a devoted hard worker who sets well-thought-out goals and continuously strives to achieve them, positively contributing to the overall performance of the IC through consistent and high-quality work.
“She is very thorough and detail-oriented, extremely professional and easy to work and collaborate with. She constantly strives for self-improvement – being open minded, willing to accept new challenges, learn and develop.”
Mitra has led or co-led 12 deals since she joined in February 2020 while also directing the unit’s covid macroeconomic analysis relative to its portfolio. She currently serves on seven boards across business applications, developer tools, data and AI, and healthcare and life sciences.
Regarding Wu, Tamara Steffens, another managing director at M12, said: “James has stepped in from multiple facets to empower our portfolio. He spearheaded a covid-19 response programme that entailed short-term cash management, budget reforecasts and cost cutting efforts and created a framework that guided entrepreneurs during unprecedented times.”
Wu has deployed over $100m of capital since joining M12 as an associate in 2018 and has worked on five investments that became unicorns – At-Bay, Applied Intuition, Bakkt, Innovaccer and Markforged. He also leads M12’s opportunity fund, which provides the unit’s portfolio with access to growth funding and enables M12 to double down on its existing portfolio.
