The rest of the 50 (in alphabetical order): William O’Donnell, managing partner, Prologis Ventures
Will O’Donnell is the founder and managing partner of Prologis Ventures, a corporate venture capital (CVC) subsidiary of industrial warehouse builder and logistics facility owner Prologis, which started operations at the beginning of 2016.
Prologis is present in 19 countries and serves local and global customers across its three divisions – Americas, Europe and Asia. Since Prologis Ventures was founded in 2016, it has focused on investing in the real estate and logistics industries.
As a corporate venture and innovation platform, Prologis Ventures partners innovative startups that are strategically aligned with Prologis and its customers. The CVC team leverages Prologis’s global network and industry expertise to help portfolio companies and partners accelerate growth, navigate challenges and scale their businesses.
Prologis Ventures focuses on areas including technology partnerships, strategic business development with investors, technology providers and key decision-makers, Prologis Labs, which enables innovation at Prologis by incubating new business models and building cross-functional teams to implement these technologies internally.
The unit has made 21 investments to date – 19 direct and two fund investments. O’Donnell said: “We have a talented and high-calibre team of five investment professionals that have become recognised as the thought-leaders within by investors, startups, technology providers and companies transforming the future of commerce.
“We have built an incredible network of traditional VCs and customers who view us as the go-to partner investing in this space.”
The unit has received positive feedback from its portfolio companies, including one that said: “Prologis is less known as a VC investor, but has unmatched supply-chain tech knowledge and network. The best CVC we have worked with.”
Before starting Prologis Ventures, O’Donnell served different roles within the company including building its investment platforms in Mexico, India, China and South Korea, adding: “I raised two funds – one $1.5bn and one $4bn –, working in M&A including a $46bn merger, and worked out six private equity funds with $4.5bn of assets.”
