GCV Powerlist 2017: Bonny Simi

Bonny Simi is president of JetBlue Technology Ventures, the wholly-owned venture subsidiary of US-based JetBlue Airways.

JetBlue Technology Ventures, named GCV’s new entrant of the year in 2016, is regarded as the only Silicon Valley corporate venture unit focusing exclusively on travel and hospitality.

In the 16 months since opening doors, it has closed eight investments, ranging from an internet-of-things mesh network startup, to electric-hybrid aircraft manufacturer Zunum Aero that aims to be the “Tesla of aircraft”, to last month’s $15m round for internet-of-things technology developer Filament. Its first strategic investment was a $1m commitment to Flyr, a US-based firm operating a data-analytics platform for flights.

Eash Sundaram, chief information officer at JetBlue and the executive sponsor of JetBlue Technology Ventures, said: “At JetBlue Technology Ventures, our goal is to be part of a disruptive force rather than the one being disrupted, and we seek new technologies that look to change the game.”

JetBlue plans to expand beyond the US and into other brand extensions beyond air travel. The funding comes off the JetBlue balance sheet and the team is based in San Carlos, California, appropriately at an airport.

Simi has been with JetBlue for 14 years in a variety of leadership and operational positions, and is still an active captain at the airline. She is a graduate of Stanford Business School and Stanford Engineering School, and is a three-time Olympic athlete in the sport of luge, a form of sled racing.