26 – 100 in alphabetical order by company: Tarik Galijasevic, managing director, Allstate Strategic Ventures
Tarik Galijasevic is managing director for Allstate Strategic Ventures (ASV), a strategic corporate venture capital (CVC) arm that invests off the balance sheet of insurer Allstate Corporation.
“We are measured by both the strategic engagement of our portfolio and on a financial basis by risk-adjusted rate of return,” explained Galijasevic.
Suren Gupta, executive vice-president, Allstate Technology and Strategic Ventures, said: “Tarik has done a terrific job leading Allstate Strategic Ventures for more than five years. As our industry continues to evolve, we are executing our Transformative Growth Plan to expand customer access, improve customer value propositions, and increase investment in growth and technology.
“Tarik and his team have played a key role not only in identifying and investing in startups that help us achieve our growth initiatives, but by bringing in outside knowledge into the enterprise to support our strategic priorities.”
Regarding ASV’s recent performance, Galijasevic added: “Our team did not miss a beat at the onset of the covid-19 pandemic. We reviewed over 1,200 deals and completed a number of new investments, as well as follow-ons. In fact, we expanded our mandate, which among other things includes leading deals which gives us more control and input around key deal terms.
“I am extremely proud that every one of our portfolio companies adapted and grew over the past year. From the beginning of the pandemic, we worked closely with management teams overseeing our portfolio companies helping them evaluate every aspect of the business, make decisions with short- and long-term goals in mind and ultimately manage capital efficiently. Many of our portfolio companies have raised new capital at improved valuations.
“Over the past year, our engagement with internal business units has grown tremendously as our business partners leveraged our external relationships and access to new technologies. Our team expanded the use of Startup Engagement days averaging more than one a month. We bring a highly filtered group of startups relevant to a particular business unit – typically four to six startups – and invite key leaders from the business unit to participate, ask questions, and grade each startup. Afterwards, we assemble feedback and coordinate follow-up discussions. This process has led to several investments and proofs of concepts, and we plan to expand even further.”
ASV closed two investments at the end of the first quarter of 2021 and has a strong pipeline in the year ahead. Galijasevic added: “We expect to meet or exceed five to eight new investments this year, including a number of investments we will lead.”
A CVC unit is a strategic imperative for a major corporation, Galijasevic argued. “One company cannot achieve everything independently. Showing the value that CVC units can bring to the broader enterprise is critically important.
“If investing is done correctly, not only will the enterprise receive returns on the business side, but CVCs can generate meaningful returns above risk-adjusted cost of capital. It is an added benefit if companies can integrate what they have learned from CVCs into their broader strategic decisions.”
A native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Galijasevic moved to the Chicago area in 1995 to pursue his education, earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and an MBA from IIT’s Stuart School of Business.
Galijasevic began his career at JPMorgan’s investment banking group, where he focused on private equity, mergers and acquisitions and capital raising in the transportation and consumer goods sectors. He has executed more than 40 transactions – surpassing $30bn – throughout his career.
