GCV Powerlist 2016: Dirk Nachtigal, BASF

Dirk Nachtigal has been chief financial officer and managing director of BASF Venture Capital, the Germany-based chemicals company’s €175m ($200m) corporate venturing unit, since its formation in September 2001. During the past decade he has expanded the corporate venturing team to 14 in offices in the US, China, Japan and Germany. Most of the team rotate into and out of BASF’s business units.

BASF has collaborated with more than 350 startups to date, investing in more than 30 of them. It usually invests between €1m and €5m. Last year, the company made two investments. In October, BASF led a $3m series A financing round with a $1.5m investment in the US-based Slips Technologies, and in November it invested €4m in the US-based quantum dots provider QD Vision. It has 15 portfolio companies on its website, and two limited partner commitments to Pangaea Ventures and Arch Venture Partners

Corporate venturing and open innovation play a critical role in BASF’s research and development activities. Its business units and research department are intimately involved in vetting potential investments. “Their role is to describe why, from a strategic point of view, we should work with this company and how,” Nachtigal said in an interview last year.

Nachtigal has worked for the BASF Group since 1987. He was previously head of finance, accounting and control at BASF Schwarzheide. He studied economics at Göttingen and Hamburg universities.