26 – 100 in alphabetical order: Jesús García, executive director of venture capital, Arca Continental; Héctor Shibata Salazar, director of investments and portfolio, AC Ventures
Jesús García is the executive director of venture capital of Mexico-listed beverage distributor Arca Continental, who oversees the corporate venturing fund, AC Ventures (ACV), which is being managed by the unit’s director of investments and portfolio, Héctor Shibata Salazar.
The fund invests directly in companies operating in the verticals of financial technology, retail technology, advanced analytics, logistics, distribution and supply chain. It also makes limited partner commitments to VC funds.
Arca Continental has subsidiaries and offices across Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and the United States. The company produces, distributes and sells non-alcoholic beverages under The Coca-Cola Company brand, as well as snacks under the brands of Bokados in Mexico, Inalecsa in Ecuador and Wise, CCS and Deep River in the US. With a client base of over 120 million people, the company reported revenues of nearly $9bn in 2019.
This financial and network prowess combined with the need to be exposed to innovation, disruptive business models and technologies led Arca Continental to form ACV about a year and a half ago in a bid to back and partner technology companies that have passed their product evaluation stage and have market traction.
This past year, ACV has invested in four startups – a logistics tech developer in Colombia, a retail tech developer in India, a fintech developer in Switzerland and an artificial intelligence and image recognition startup for retail in the US – of which the fund disclosed two deals in December 2019: India-based retail digitisation technology developer LoveLocal (formerly m.Paani) and US-based autonomous retail system developer Zippin.
Previously, García was deputy financial officer for pharmacy retail chain operator Farmacias del Ahorro, having come from a diverse background in logistics, finance, management, strategic planning and IT in Mexico and elsewhere. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and a master’s degree in industrial engineering and management from Stanford University.
In addition to his ACV role, Shibata is also an adjunct professor at ITESM’s Graduate School of Business. Shibata earned an MBA at New York University’s Stern School of Business and received distinction having been inducted to Beta Gamma Sigma honour society and Golden Key International Honour Society. He holds a bachelor of science in industrial engineering with magna cum laude from ITESM.
