The top 50: Christopher Bartlett, head, Verizon Ventures
Since October 2018, Chris Bartlett has been senior vice-president of corporate development at US-based telecommunications firm Verizon and head of its corporate venturing unit, Verizon Ventures.
Verizon Ventures focuses on developers of 5G, artificial intelligence, big data, virtual and mixed reality, the internet of things (IoT), financial technology, healthcare, sports and live streaming technologies, among others.
At the unit, Bartlett oversees joint ventures, strategic investment activity, acquisitions and divestitures. The unit has made almost 150 investments across a variety industries and technologies since its launch in 2000. It has also realised 32 exits.
Recent investments include participation in the $42.5m venture round for Fermata Energy, an electric transport specialist, in January 2022, as well as in the $15m series A raise for mobility insurance firm Voom Insurance in late 2021. Verizon Ventures has also been conducting Israel-based deals actively led by managing director Tammy Mahn in Tel Aviv.
Bartlett came from investment banking firm Morgan Stanley, where he had been a managing director leading North America-based media and communications mergers and acquisitions transactions for nearly 15 years from 2004.
Before his stint at Morgan Stanley, Bartlett was an associate at Bear Stearns, an investment banking firm that was acquired by its peer JPMorgan Chase in 2008, in media and communications M&A for two years. He started his career in 1996 as an analyst at Arthur Andersen.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
