Top 50 Rising Stars 2021 continued (in alphabetical order by CVC unit): Michiel van Haersma Buma, implementation manager, and Phoebe Wang, principal, Shell Ventures
Geert van de Wouw, vice-president of Shell Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas company, said: “Over the past three to four years, Michiel has been able – with his team – to create $150m-plus deployment value for Shell from deploying the startup technologies and business models in the field – in our assets and new projects – which has helped to materially grow the companies we have invested in.
“Since deployment is the number one challenge in energy, due to slow adoption of new technologies by the sector, his capabilities have quickly become a true differentiator to our entrepreneurs, our co-investors and provided a competitive advantage to Shell Ventures, establishing us as a preferred corporate co-investor in the energy domain. We can now back our strategic value claims up with real data and proof points, thanks to Michiel and his leadership.”
Van Haersma Buma said: “I work for Shell Ventures where I started four years ago in a new role to lead implementation – ensuring strategic value delivery through deployment of our portfolio investments within Shell. It was a new role that I was able to shape from the start.”
Phoebe Wang is a venture principal at Shell Ventures. She said: “I lead investments in both early-stage and late-stage startups who are working on technologies to accelerate the energy transition, such as CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage), AI/ML (artificial intelligence and machine learning), battery storage technologies, hydrogen fuel cell and mobility. I am also passionate about improving diversity and inclusion within Shell Ventures and have been part of a task force to help advance our journey.
“I started as a venture capitalist back in 2012, with a financial cleantech fund, and moved to corporate VC as a principal in 2017. I have made over 20 investments in my VC career ranging from sub-$1m seed investments to $30m growth stage investment.”
