The rest of the 50 (in alphabetical order): Stephanie Vega Ziegler, senior portfolio and partnership development manager, Ferguson Ventures
Ferguson Ventures, the corporate venture capital (CVC) subsidiary of plumbing supplies distributor Ferguson Enterprises, was formed in January 2018 to start CVC investment activities and an innovation practice within the company.
Stephanie Vega Ziegler joined the unit in February 2018 as senior investment manager, overseeing strategic partnerships, investment identification and portfolio acceleration, before becoming senior portfolio and partnership development manager in March 2019.
Blake Luse, a director at Ferguson Ventures, said in his nomination of Ziegler: “Stephanie Ziegler has been instrumental in both launching Ferguson Ventures and executing on the processes created to drive value for Ferguson, our customers and the startups we invest in and partner with.
“In 2019, Stephanie established our Ferguson Ventures portfolio development team focused on post-investment acceleration and is currently working with six startups to grow their business leveraging Ferguson’s resources.
“As part of her focus, Stephanie has led more than 10 proofs-of-concept this past year focused on identifying value pre-investment and mutual learning opportunities for Ferguson and the startup. Stephanie’s passion for ensuring value for startups – as well as the parent company – and dedication to learning the CVC craft is a big reason she should be considered as a Rising Star for 2019.”
The unit most recently invested in property maintenance platform operator Homee On Demand, helping it close a $15m series B round and co-investing alongside insurance firms The Hartford, Liberty Mutual and State Farm – the latter two having invested out of respective CVC subsidiaries: Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures and State Farm Ventures.
Doug Schaedler, chief executive and founder of Homee On Demand, added: “Stephanie has interacted with no fewer than 10 people at Homee over the past year and everyone on my team has said to me how fantastic she is to engage with on the partnership.
“Her attention to detail and ability to map out efficient workflows between Homee and Ferguson has advanced the partnership significantly and it is pleasure to work with her, she is a great representative for Ferguson and its strong culture.”
Ziegler holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Spanish from the University of Texas at Austin.
