The oil and gas supplier’s venturing and accelerator units continue a series of high-profile people moves with the departure of a managing partner.
David Hayes, formerly a managing partner of BP’s corporate venturing unit, BP Ventures, has become the latest departure from the oil and gas supplier’s innovation operations, Global Corporate Venturing understands.
His departure follows a similar move from Meghan Sharp, global head of BP Ventures, who became global head of Decarbonization Partners, a $600m investment vehicle set up by asset manager BlackRock and Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek, in February this year.
Hayes had been at BP across a variety of roles for 20 years. Before becoming a managing partner, he was chief investment officer and managing director for BP Ventures for the Americas, following stints in roles including senior principal and investment manager at BP Alternative Energy and BP Finance.
BP Ventures is a relatively long-standing CVC, having been established in 2006. It has continued a steady pace of investments this year, taking part in deals such as the $125m series D round for electric vehicle charging technology provider FreeWire Technologies and an $8m round for drone services provider Flylogix.
However, BP’s Launchpad venture building unit, which was launched in early 2020 with the aim of building five unicorns within the BP business, appears to have had a relatively slow start, with just seven startups in its portfolio to date.
Launchpad is shoring up its team, however, with the addition of Sophie Dingreville, who has joined as chief investment officer after being appointed to the role last month, following nearly five years as investment director at insurance provider Munich Re’s corporate venturing unit, Munich Re Ventures.
Fernando Moncada Rivera
Fernando Moncada Rivera is a reporter at Global Corporate Venturing and also host of the CVC Unplugged podcast.
