The Top 25: #23 Don Riley, Chevron
Don Riley is a seasoned venture executive at Chevron Technology Ventures who has worked at Chevron Corp for 45 years since finishing his PhD in exploration geophysics at Stanford University in 1974.
Having just celebrated Chevron Technology Ventures’ 20th anniversary, Barbara Burger, the president of the unit, said: “Don Riley was there from the start and he has been a pillar in the venture space – known by many and a coach and mentor to those coming behind him. Don is certainly the glue that holds things together. He has played an integral role in almost all of the deals Chevron has done.”
During the early part of his career, Riley developed seismic imaging technology at the company’s research laboratory in La Habra, California. He then put himself forward for exploration operations assignments and worked in most Chevron locations in North America – Denver, New Orleans, Houston and Calgary – before returning to its headquarters in San Ramon, California.
During the final decade of these assignments, he was chief geophysicist at Chevron USA and Chevron Canada and was involved in new technology selection and management, overseeing the exploration prospect portfolio.
Around 1998, Chevron’s chief technology officer was considering whether and how to enter the venture capital business to access new technology under an open innovation model. Riley said: “At that time, this was a very frothy VC environment, as all will recall, and valuations were at the top of a massive bubble, so the decision was full of risk, but also reward.”
When the proposal to launch a corporate venturing fund was presented to Chevron’s top executives, Riley and his team were certain it would be turned down. But the first fund was approved.
Riley and his team are now investing from the fifth fund and the longest-operating corporate venturing unit in the oil and gas business. Riley added: “I was honoured to be a co-founder of the Chevron VC team 20 years ago and have found it a fantastically exciting and challenging part of my career.”
One deal that stood out was IronPort Systems, an email and internet gateway security company. Riley said not only did it have a great exit, but it also delivered significant value to Chevron, which deployed its IT security solutions.
As a corporate venturing guru, Riley had several tips for his fellow CVCs. All VCs, he said, whether corporate or not, should subscribe to the “do no harm” philosophy in working with fragile startup businesses. An investor should be consistent and reliable and, more importantly, always add value to the companies invested.
