Top 50 Rising Stars 2022 (in alphabetical order by CVC unit): Galina Rachenkova, principal, Hitachi Ventures
Galina Rachenkova is a principal at Hitachi Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Japan-headquartered electronics manufacturer Hitachi.
She is based in Munich, Germany and helps the unit execute its investment strategy, focusing on strategic opportunities across Europe.
Hitachi Ventures invests in innovative startups active in the IT, industrial automation, cloud services, cybersecurity, mobility, energy, digital health and smart infrastructure industries in Europe, Israel and North America.
Recent investments made by the unit include battery recycling and manufacturing provider Battery Resourcers, warehouse robotics technology developer InVia Robotics, remote patient monitoring technology developer Huma, cloud computing software developer Rescale and digital pathology technology provider Proscia.
Prior to joining Hitachi Ventures, Rachenkova worked as a senior associate for Speedinvest, a venture capital fund that invests in pre-seed, seed and early-stage tech startups across Europe, targeting the fintech, insurtech, deeptech, industrial and e-commerce sectors.
She was previously a senior consultant for computing technology producer IBM, focusing on deals across the internet of things, cognitive manufacturing and industry 4.0 segments, as well as on the development of digital strategies and new business models.
She also worked as a consultant for advisory, data and analytics firm JD Power having completed an internship at Porsche Motorsport North America.
Rachenkova holds a master’s degree in science from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
