A member of the top 100 from the Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist
Frank Starrmann, a managing director at Innogy Venture Capital (IVC), the €115m ($130m) corporate venturing unit set up for Germany-based energy utility RWE in 2010, is also its chief financial officer.
Starrmann had co-led the unit with Crispin Leick for the past four years until the latter’s departure to join Germany-based energy utility ENBW Energie Baden Wuerttenberg’s $100m venturing unit at the end of last year (where his first deal was DZ-4).
Starrmann is now sole manager for the Innogy Renewables Technology Fund I, an early-stage investor in Europe backed by RWE Innogy and CEE Holding, an investment company of Bankhaus Lampe Group focused on renewable energy generation.
He is a RWE veteran, having started at the company in 2001 after completing his PhD in energy economics.
Starrmann is a board member of six of Innogy VC’s portfolio companies – Heliatek, Kiwigrid, Airec, Enercast, CeramHyd and Topell – and stepped down from Greenwatt’s board last summer after IVC sold its position. The other investment on Innogy’s site is Mantex, which Innogy backed in 2009.
Starrmann said: “As IVC we will focus on developing and growing our portfolio companies like Heliatek, Kiwigrid. Airec, Enercast and Ceram Hyd. As you are aware of those are great companies to develop.
“RWE is currently setting up a dedicated team with a focus on pure strategic startup investments including fund-of-funds investments [with] Thomas Birr as strategy and innovation leader.”
With Leick’s resignation, Hans Buenting, CEO of RWE Innogy and chairman of its investment committee, said: “I thank Crispin Leick sincerely for his work and commitment over the past seven years during which he not only established the venture capital division at RWE Innogy but also positioned it as a leading venture capital investor, early stage, in Europe, with more than 50 transactions with 12 portfolio companies.”
