27 women to watch in CVC northern Europe

Karinya Turnbull

It was a moment of reflection after the birth of her child that led Karinya Turnbull to move into corporate venturing.

“When I was on maternity leave, I was very deliberate in assessing what gave me energy and the conditions that allow me to perform at my best. And creating positive impact is one of those. And so being able to contribute to scaling technology and the energy systems of tomorrow in clean tech was an irresistible opportunity that came my way,” she says.

Turnbull had joined Shell, the British oil and gas multinational, straight out of university in 2009. After starting as a retail operations analyst she rose to the position of commercial advisor for Prelude, a floating natural gas facility off the coast of Australia.

But in 2019 she left Australia, moving to the Netherlands to join the Shell Ventures team, where she is now chief of staff. Turnbull oversees both the generation of deals and the collaboration with partnered companies.

Founded in 1996, Shell Ventures has a fund size of $1.4bn and invests in startups across the energy, industrial, IT and transport sectors, with a typical initial investment of between $2m and $5m.

It has around 75 portfolio companies, including GridPoint, a decarbonisation company, Cartken, which makes autonomous delivery robots, and Palmetto, a rooftop solar panel technology.

A large part of Turnbull’s work centres around evolving technology in the oil and gas industry as it adjusts to the energy transition. She is also currently focusing on artificial intelligence.

“You can’t talk about technology without AI. To what extent is that going to increase demand? To what extent is that going to be an efficiency on the demand profile?” she says.

“That is really interesting if we think about traceability of either commodity products or carbon enriched products, [and] what technologies and platforms are going to enable, say, policies to evolve and encourage greener supply chains, greener commodity choices to promote that sustainability lens.”

Shell Ventures has also invested in external funds and incubators. These include the US cleantech incubator Greentown Labs and EV Private Equity, which targets companies making new technologies for the oil and gas industry.

Turnbull sees women as being under-represented in CVC.

“I believe that having those diverse views – and gender being one of many diversity characteristics – improves the understanding of risks and opportunities associated with strategy settings, thesis development, capital allocation, and, specifically for CVC, capturing insights,” she says.

Before her career in business, Turnbull competed in gymnastics, springboard diving and mogul skiing. Mogul skiing’s rules were changed to allow for backflips, but at first, only the men were attempting it.

“It took me to see another woman to do it to go: Oh, ok, now I can do it.”

And it is a lesson she carries over into the world of CVC. “We need women who are in positions of power or who have had non-traditional paths into CVC to be visible, showing the emerging leaders of tomorrow what is possible.”

Rachael Reid

When Rachael Reid was 15 years old, she won a competition to visit Nasa’s Houston Space School for two weeks. The trip brought her into contact with powerful role models first hand and ended up shaping the rest of her career.

“I had quite a lot of biased views about routes that are more conventional for women. But then I met these women who had pursued engineering degrees that were amazing and changing the landscape of the world’s technology. That really opened my eyes into seeing what was possible,” she says.

Reid joined the international oil and gas company BP in 2012, while still an engineering student at Strathclyde University. She began her career as an engineer, working at the forefront of project delivery in the North Sea.

After some time as a project lead, she moved over into strategy roles, working on BP’s approach to the energy transition. The next step was into the corporate venture arm, BP Ventures, as an investment director.

“I’ve had a career that’s quite multifaceted, with a variety of different roles. There’s a new language to orientate yourself in [when coming to CVC], but once you acclimatise you can start to see the similarities to experiences and capabilities you’ve had in the past,” she says.

“I’m naturally curious and I think that’s a skillset you need to be successful in venture capital as well. I’ve had the opportunity to understand all these different potential solutions and find out how they can fit into the energy system problems that we have.”

BP Ventures was launched in 2007 and now has over 75 portfolio companies and is in its fifth fund. It targets companies working in the energy, industrial and transport sectors. It recently led the $111m series B investment in Hysata, an Australian company working on technology to develop green hydrogen.

Reid has long been an advocate of women working in STEM and related industries. One of her roles at BP was as co-lead for the North Sea Women in Wells programme, which aimed to improve representation of women through focused recruitment and work at leadership forums.

“We need to get more diverse talent into engineering, science, maths and technology,” she says. “I can speak to my own personal experience of having had that intervention early, which was important for the choices I made in life.”

Marie Hurtgen

Senior manager
Sabic Ventures
Based in Liège, Belgium

Marie Hurtgen began her career as an academic, winning a Fulbright scholarship for post-doctoral research in organic chemistry in the US. Then, in 2013, she returned to her home country of Belgium to join the nanotech startup Nanocyl, and has worked in business ever since.

“From there, my career path was rooted in R&D, business development, sales management – all the aspects of growing a company. So I looked for opportunities to develop these aspects together in one job. This is how I came to a career in VC.”

Her first role in venturing came in 2021, when she joined the Global Entrepreneurship Centre, an independent accelerator, as a director, focusing on investments into cleantech startups.

Now she is senior technology manager at Sabic Ventures, the CVC arm of the Saudi chemicals company Sabic, which launched in 2011. Its investments target carbon neutrality technologies, the circular economy and sustainability solutions for the chemical industry. Hurtgen’s role is to source and oversee investments in industrial decarbonisation and plastics recycling startups across Europe.

“When assessing a technology we start with its intrinsic merits. Does it have scientific grounds? Then we ask, does it make sense for our company to implement this kind of technology? And finally, how do we predict this technology will integrate in the value chain?”

Its portfolio companies include Qpinch, which makes heat pump technology from industrial chemicals, and Boston Materials, which recycles scrap carbon fibre to make useable materials.

Hurtgen found that a thorough understanding of the business and the ability to drive change are essential qualities.

“One of the important things when you are entering CVC is to constantly grow your internal and external networks. And you have to become an agent of change, which takes resilience.”

She sees female underrepresentation in CVC as part of a broader need for greater diversity.

“We’re still at the point where we need to promote this field to underrepresented groups so that it becomes visible to them as a career path. But this isn’t symptomatic of CVCs in particular. When you look at the founding teams of startups, women are also vastly underrepresented,” she says.

“I didn’t have a role model in the industry. I followed my own interest. But there are some career options I didn’t consider until later, and this would probably have changed had I had female role models.”

Alexa Rios Araneda

Head of strategic business innovation
Maersk Growth
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark

Alexa Rios Araneda had been working for the Danish shipping multinational A.P. Møller – Maersk for six years when she got involved in a project that introduced her to a new way of working.

Tradelens was a collaboration between Maersk and IBM to develop a blockchain platform for use in shipping. It was her first exposure to working on the innovation side of the business, after starting her career in frontline sales.

“It was a very innovative idea to bring these two giants together: one bringing the technology and one the expertise [in logistics]. I experienced first-hand what it takes to bring a very ambitious idea with no proven concept to reality, and the struggle of finding your feet in a very competitive market. It was very challenging, and I was hooked,” she says.

It was this that led her to pursue a career in CVC. Now she is head of strategic business innovation at Maersk Growth, the CVC arm of Maersk. Founded in 2017, Maersk Growth invests in startups with applications in transport and logistics. Rios Araneda’s role involves liaising with the Maersk business units to understand their needs and how Maersk Growth can work alongside these.

Maersk Growth has over 40 portfolio companies, across sectors such as smart logistics technology and supply chain management. These include Clockwork, developers of a digital system to monitor a delivery network, and Prometheus Fuels, which aims to develop zero net carbon fuel.

Rios Araneda has worked for the Maersk Group since she graduated in 2013 from Duoc UC with a degree in business and international trade. She began her career at Maersk Line, a subsidiary, in its Chile office, as an account manager, before moving to the European operations in 2018 as a specialist in refrigerated goods logistics, and then Tradelens in 2019. In 2023, she joined Maersk Growth as a senior portfolio manager.

Speaking of the move from sales to CVC, she says, “I thrive when there is a need to jump into the unknown. When something is a new idea or is going to challenge the status quo, that is my job.”

Working in CVC has meant “thinking outside the box. How do we move from offering solutions to partnering with customers and developing solutions with them, understanding what it takes to find your place in the market and go from an idea to creating a product.”

Since she became head of strategic business innovation, Maersk Growth has taken part in deals including part of a $21.5m funding round for Captura, a carbon capture technology developer, and a $20m round for Pactum, a supply chain management software programme.

Reflecting on her experience as a woman in the CVC world, she says: “I’m here to do something different. I’m not here to fit in, in the mould. I’m here to do my job.”

“To run a successful business, we need to mirror society. Otherwise, we keep building business that only work for some, and then we complain about getting the same result as in the past. I’m all for breaking those patterns, not trying to fit in but finding your unique superpower driven by your purpose and values, and playing to your strengths.”

Ida Christine Brun

Head of external innovation and ecosystem engagement
Maersk Growth
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark

Ida Christine Brun joined Maersk Growth in 2022 as senior portfolio manager and is now its head of external innovation and ecosystem engagement.

Her interest in startups goes back to the beginning of her career, when she worked for Cosmos Markets, a finance startup in Norway.

“I got the experience of being part of a small team and got involved in everything from developing the business terms and routines of the company, to the onboarding of customers. I got a good understanding of what it takes to set up a company,” she says.

Brun then worked as a market research analyst for EULACERMAT, an EU project which conducted business and scientific research in Latin America.

“Those were early experiences which got me interested in [CVC]. Having a broad international experience has been a huge value to what I do now. It’s provided a strong network to build on, and given an understanding of cultural and regulatory differences to be aware of,” she says.

When she first entered the world of CVC, Brun was dismayed by the lack of diversity.

“The business case for having a diverse team is very clear in terms of both the positive impact it drives and also the financial results. I was really surprised to experience just how little diversity there was in the in the leadership teams of both the startups that we were looking to invest in, and also among the investor groups.”

“I think the sad truth is that female founders are still few and far between, especially within the logistics industry. Highlighting role models is really important, so it inspires confidence in others. It was of immense help to see the career trajectory of female leaders who came before me,” she says.

She joined Maersk in 2011 and held various roles across the business, including in project management, stakeholder engagement and head of sales.

“It may not have been a typical route into CVC, however it was very much a natural next move as I had built up a good understanding of the pressing business needs and industry challenges which could benefit from external innovation and solutions.”

In her current role in Maersk Growth, she leads the team in charge of sourcing opportunities for equity investments and strategic partnerships, and is portfolio manager for the 40+ portfolio companies.

The aspects of her work she is most excited by is the investment into startups working on the energy transition. She says a requirement for working in CVC is to have “the ability to constantly work on different opportunities, with many different founders, while also balancing internal stakeholders with competing priorities.”

“You need individuals who are willing to take on and be excited about working in such an environment,” she says.

Christina Brinck

President
Volvo Group Venture Capital
Based in Gothenburg, Sweden

Christina Brinck is president of Volvo Group Venture Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of Swedish manufacturing company Volvo Group, which makes and sells trucks, buses and heavy machinery.

Launched in 1997, it targets startups across automotive sectors including electrification, logistics and clean energy tech.

Among its 11 portfolio companies are Apex.AI, an autonomous vehicle software developer, and Upstream, a cybersecurity company specialising in protecting networked vehicles. In June 2023, it led the $36m series B funding round for Trucksters, a long-haul freight startup.

Brinck joined Volvo Group Venture Capital in May 2021 as an investment director, after 23 years working for the Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund.

Ninon Lamarque

Investment director
EDF Pulse Ventures
Based in Paris, France

Ninon Lamarque is investment director at EDF Pulse Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of EDF, a French state-owned electric utility company.

Founded in 2017, EDF Pulse Ventures invests across IT and energy technology sectors including long-term energy storage, water management, and nuclear power.

It has around 20 portfolio companies, including Ekoscan Integrity, which makes ultrasonic testing equipment, and McPhy, which makes and installs hydrogen production equipment.

Before coming to CVC, Lamarque began her career as a project engineer for Bouygues Construction, a French engineering company, in 2012. Shortly after, she moved to Caisse des Dépôts, a French public financial institution, where she rose to the role of investment manager for renewables.

In 2020, she joined EDF as a senior manager in corporate M&A, before becoming investment director in EDF Pulse Ventures in 2022.

Séverine Grégoire

Managing director
Zebox Ventures
Based in Marseille, France

Séverine Grégoire is managing director of Zebox Ventures, an accelerator and incubator scheme which is part of French shipping and logistics multinational CMA CGM.

Launched in 2018, Zebox Ventures has supported over 300 startups across sectors including automotive, clean energy, and work technology.

In June 2024 it took part in the $2.2m pre-seed funding round for Veeton, a generative AI platform. In August 2023, it was part of the $5m seed funding round for ElectroTempo, which does fleet electrification.

Grégoire is a serial entrepreneur who founded her first company, Monshowroom, an online shopping platform for designer clothes, in 2006Pr. It was acquired by the French retailer Casino, for an undisclosed amount, in 2012. She then founded MesDocteurs, a platform providing health advice, which was also acquired in 2018, by Groupe VYV, a French insurance company.

She began her role as head of Zebox Ventures in February 2022, and also works as head of parent company CMA CGM’s AI department.

Lexy Prosszer

Investment and community building principal
Btomorrow Ventures
Based in London, UK

Lexy Prosszer is investment and community building principal at Btomorrow Ventures (BTV), the corporate venture capital arm of tobacco company British American Tobacco.

Prozzer was part of the founding team when BTV was launched in 2020. The unit invests in startups in the consumer sector as well as digital transformation, new technologies and sustainability.

It holds around 20 companies on its portfolio, including Actronika, which simulates the sensation of touch across from virtual interactions, and Open Book Extracts, which makes cannabinoid products.

In November 2023, BTV was the lead investor in the $5m series A funding round for Mais Mu, a food company that makes high protein snacks.

After internships at Unesco, Raiffeisen Bank Romania, Deloitte and Citi, Prosszer joined Deutsche Bank as an associate in July 2012, a position she held for five years.

In 2017 she joined British American Tobacco as a senior M&A finance manager before founding its CVC arm.

Katherine Salguero

Senior investment analyst
Randstad Innovation Fund
Based in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Katherine Salguero is a senior investment analyst at Randstad Innovation Fund, the corporate venture capital arm of Dutch HR consulting firm Randstad.

Launched in 2014, Randstad Innovation Fund invests across the fintech and IT sectors, including in AI, edtech and worktech.

Among its portfolio companies are Alicia, a startup providing bespoke insurance products for freelancers, and Brazen, which makes AI tools for recruiters to use, such as chatbots that converse with candidates.

In March 2022, it took part in the $60m series D funding round for HackerRank, a company that made a platform to evaluate a job candidate’s technical skills, such as through coding tests.

Salguero started her career in finance, working for Azurita, a Colombian professional services company, from 2009 to 2012, and then as head of financial planning for Pichucho, a Colombian agriculture firm.

She joined Randstad as an international financial analyst in 2018, a position she held for nearly two years. In 2019 she started her current role as senior investment analyst.

Sofia Hasselberg

Investment director
Bonnier Capital
Based in Stockholm, Sweden

Sofia Hasselberg is an investment director at Bonnier Capital, the CVC arm of the Swedish multinational media group Bonnier. Her focus is on investments in the healthcare sector.

Bonnier Capital was founded in 2016 and invests in startups at all stages across the healthcare, media, finance, sustainability and IT sectors.

It has 36 portfolio companies listed on its website. Of these, the ones Hesselberg is responsible for include Elypta, a developer of liquid biopsies to be used in early-stage cancer diagnoses, and Medoma, which provides healthcare for people in their homes.

Bonnier Capital’s portfolio also includes Abba Voyage, the digitally enhanced concert of Swedish band Abba, as well as Klarna, a payments service which allows for flexible programmes, and Masterclass, an online learning platform.

Hesselberg has a medical background, working as a physician until February 2011. She then changed careers to business, joining McKinsey as a management consultant in March of that year.

After that, she joined US pharmaceutical manufacturer MSD as a director in their Sweden office before moving to Bonnier Capital in 2022.

Cynthia Chen

Head of Aviva Venture Capital
Aviva
Based in London, UK

Cynthia Chen is head of venture capital at Aviva, a UK insurance multinational.

Aviva launched their corporate venture capital arm Aviva Ventures in 2015. With a fund size of $250m, it invests in European startups and focuses on sectors adjacent to the insurance industry, including healthcare, finance and IT.

Among its portfolio companies are Shepper, which pays members of the public to assist in store data-gathering exercises for chain businesses, and Carpe Data, which applies data analytics AI to underwriting.

Chen joined Aviva in 2019 as head of group M&A before moving to head of venture capital in November 2023, her first role in corporate venture capital.

Before joining Aviva, she was vice president of insurance investment banking at Citi, following a career that had seen her also work at HSBC and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Irene Prota

Investment manager
Porsche Ventures
Based in Luxembourg

Irene Prota is an investment manager at Porsche Ventures, the CVC arm of the German car company Porsche.

Launched in 2017, Porsche Ventures targets startups in mobility, industrial technology and sustainability, with offices in the US, Europe, and Israel.

Its portfolio companies include Nozomi Networks, a cybersecurity startup, and Valence, a SaaS security platform developer. In May, Porsche Ventures was the lead investor in the $59m series A funding round for Cylib, a battery recycling company. This was followed by leading the $28m series A round for chipmaker Black Semiconductor in June.

Prota graduated with a finance degree in 2018 and joined the professional services firm Mazars as an M&A valuation analyst in 2019. She joined Porsche Ventures in September 2023 after working as an investment associate at Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital, a Luxembourg and Czech VC company.

Outside of her main roles, she has been a member of Global Women in VC, an community for women in the profession which monitors gender representation, since 2022.

Ana Troncoso Ceola

Executive vice president
ABB Motion Ventures
Based in London, UK

Ana Troncoso Ceola is executive vice president and global head of strategy, business development, sustainability and marketing of the ABB Motion Ventures fund within ABB Ventures, the CVC arm of Swiss electronics, robotics and automation tech company ABB.

ABB Ventures was founded in 2009 and invests in the energy, industrial and transport sectors, in startups across all growth stages. The Motion Ventures unit was launched in March 2024 and targets sustainability technology.

Since being set up, ABB Motion Ventures has added four companies to its portfolio, including Samotics, a monitoring software service for AC motors and rotating equipment, and Morrow Batteries, which aims to develop sustainable battery cells.

Troncoso Ceola joined ABB Motion in November 2023, from the oil and gas company Shell, where she worked as vice president of new business development for four years.

Before that, she worked for the British-Australian mining company Rio Tinto for 13 years, rising to the position of MD of corporate development.

Basma Kharrat

Vice president, external venturing
Saint-Gobain Nova
Based in Courbevoie, France

Basma Kharrat is vice president of Nova, the CVC function at Saint-Gobain, a French construction materials multinational.

Since its founding in 2006, Nova has added over 50 companies to its portfolio across sectors including digital construction, circular economy, connectivity and the energy transition.

Nova invests globally, managing investments totaling more than $110m. Portfolio companies include Tvasta, a concrete 3D printer, and Tri’n’Collect, which recycles construction waste materials.

Kharrat was previously a project manager for the management and technology consultancy firm BearingPoint, a position she held for 7 years.

She joined Saint-Gobain in 2017 as M&A director responsible for strategic planning, before being made general manager of ZirPro, a division of the company which supplies industrial ceramics.

She has been VP of external venturing since July 2023, when she took over from Minas Apelian upon his retirement. In December 2023, Nova was the lead investor in ION Storage Systems, a battery solution developer for industries including aerospace and electric vehicles.

Hélène Loncin

Head of venture capital
GTT
Based in Paris, France

Hélène Loncin is head of VC at GTT Strategic Ventures, the CVC arm of GTT, a US-headquartered telecoms multinational.

Established in 2023, GTT Strategic Ventures invests in tech startups working on mobility, the green transition, and maritime systems. Its portfolio companies include Bound4Blue, which makes wind-powered propulsion systems for shipping. Another, Energo, is developing a technology it hopes to be used in producing renewable energy production from CO2, biogas and ammonia.

Loncin began her career with the French IT services company Logica, which she joined as an IT engineer in 2007, rising to become a consultant. Then came a role as head of innovation at Sopura, a brewery hygiene company, before she joined GTT in 2014 as an innovation manager. She remained a board member at Sopura until its acquisition by the food safety company Kersia in 2020.

She has now been at GTT for 11 years, reaching her current position after four years as head of corporate development where she oversaw the company’s M&A projects.

Ayano Kase

Portfolio success Europe lead
Woven Capital, Toyota’s Growth Fund
Based in London, UK

Ayano Kase is the head of Woven Capital’s Europe investments, a Japan-headquartered CVC arm of carmaker Toyota, which targets mobility technologies including AI solutions, electrification and next-generation vehicles.

Founded in 2020, Woven Capital controls a fund of $800m, investing in companies from the pre-seed stage to series C and beyond. Its portfolio companies include Corvus Energy, a Norwegian developer of energy storage and fuel cell systems, and Nuro, which makes autonomous delivery vehicles.

In June 2024, Woven Capital was the lead investor in the $15m series B funding round for Compredict, a German startup which makes virtual sensors for vehicles.

Kase joined Woven Capital in September 2021 as a business development and strategy manager, before moving up to her current role in October 2023. Before joining, she had spent three years at BCG, rising from the level of associate to consultant.

Irina Gorbounova

Head of XCarb Innovation Fund
ArcelorMittal
Based in London, UK

Irina Gorbounova is the head of the XCarb CVC fund at ArcelorMittal, a Luxembourg steel manufacturer.

Launched in 2021, the $200m fund targets startups working on decarbonisation in the steel manufacturing process. Its first investment was $10m in Heliogen, a solar power startup.

It has since been the lead investor in fundraising rounds, including a $5m investment in CHAR Technologies, which produces pyrolysis technology for recycling materials, and $35m in Boston Metal, which is developing a clean electricity-powered solution for steelmaking to replace the use of coal.

Gorbounova sits on the board of directors of both of these companies.

Alongside running the fund, Gorbounova is also vice president of group M&A at the company, a post she has held since 2005.

Lisa Schneider

Investment associate
Aramco Ventures
Based in London, UK

Lisa Schneider is an investment associate at Aramco Ventures, the CVC arm of state-owned Saudi oil and gas company Aramco.

During her time at the CVC Schneider led transactions such as the investment into Promethean Particles, a startup making nanoparticles and metal-organic frameworks for CO2 capture.

She joined in 2023 following four years at Chemovator, the CVC unit of the Germany-headquartered chemicals multinational BASF.

Aruna Subramanian

Managing director
Sabic Ventures
Based in Eindhoven, Netherlands

Aruna Subramanian has been the managing director of Sabic Ventures, the CVC arm of the Saudi chemicals company Sabic, for nine years. In her time there she has overseen lead investments into Biowish, a US agritech startup and Vaula, a battery manufacturer.

Sabic Ventures was launched in 2011. It holds a portfolio of 12 companies across the industrial, energy, biotech and agri-tech sectors. Its total fund size is undisclosed.

After starting her career working in operations at SLB, a US oilfield services company, Subramanian moved to corporate venturing in 2005, joining what was then Shell Technology Ventures, US energy company Shell’s corporate investment division.

After this she was a senior investment manager at Brightlands Venture Partners, a VC firm based in the Netherlands.

Lina Arbeláez

Head of Decarbonisation Ventures
Anglo American
Based in London, UK

Lina Arbeláez is head of Decarbonisation Ventures, an investment arm of Anglo American, the British multinational mining company.

Her role is to invest in startups across sectors such as clean energy and sustainable materials.

She joined Anglo American in 2021 after a career spent at companies including British oil and gas firm BP, American financial services company American Express, and Colombian oil and gas company TGI.

In 2017, she joined Beryllos, a Colombian consultancy, as a renewables consultant. Since then she has also worked as a low carbon strategy consultant for OGCS Global, a UK consultancy. Since she joined Anglo American, it has taken part in the $3.88m funding round for UK hydrogen fuel technology startup Supercritical, and the $5m seed financing round for Mission Zero Technologies, a UK carbon capture startup which Anglo American also helped found in 2020.

Diane Frachon

Director
SLB New Energy Ventures
Based in London, UK

Diane Frachon is a director at SLB New Energy Ventures, the CVC arm of SLB, a US oilfield services company.

She joined SLB in 2012 as a global supplier manager and has since worked in a variety of roles at the company, based around Europe and the Middle East. From 2020 to 2022, she was the sales and marketing director for Egypt and the Middle East, based in Cairo.

In 2022 she moved to SLB New Energy Ventures. The team focuses on investments into energy transition startups, including those developing carbon capture and storage technology, cleaner fuel sources such as hydrogen, and critical materials like lithium.

After beginning her career in food science research for the National Food Processors Association in the US, she moved to Danone, a French food company, as a buyer, beginning her career in business.

She recently featured on GCV’s 2024 Rising Stars list.

Felicity O’Kelly

Principal
Climate Investment
Based in London, UK

Felicity O’Kelly is a principal at Climate Investment (CI), a VC firm which focuses on decarbonisation startups and which was founded by corporates in the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative.

She joined CI in 2019 and is responsible for commercial and financial due diligence of startups, sourcing deals, and portfolio management.

CI controls a fund of more than $1bn, and focuses on startups working on decarbonising the most energy-intensive sectors such as energy, industrial materials and transport.

Since joining, O’Kelly has been an investor in companies including ZincFive, a US maker of nickel-zinc battery technology, which is intended as a less carbon intensive form of energy storage, and Turntide Technologies, a US company making products for use in decarbonising industries, such as lithium-ion batteries and energy efficient motors.

Before her time at CI, O’Kelly was the cofounder and CEO of MossPod, a cleantech startup which developed carbon capture technology for use in polluted areas. In an interview for GCV’s 2024 Rising Stars list, she said being a founder of a startup gave her a crucial insight she uses today as an investor.

Elena Watts-Pass

Portfolio programme associate
TDK Ventures
Based in London, UK

Elena Watts-Pass is a portfolio programme associate at TDK Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of the Japanese electronics multinational TDK.

She joined in August 2024, marking her first role in the private sector for CVC. Before that, she was a senior commercialisation associate at the University of Cambridge’s technology transfer office, Cambridge Enterprise.

TDK Ventures was launched in 2019 and targets startups in the energy sector. In 2023, it established a $150m fund. A recent investment for the CVC was taking part in the $55m series A funding round for Peak Energy, a US sodium-ion battery producer.   

Watts-Pass began her career as an academic. After gaining a PhD in materials science at Imperial College London, she worked there as a research assistant for three months in 2021.

Archana Srivatsan

Head of South and Southeast Asia Investments
Strategic investment team, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Based in London, UK

Archana Srivatsan is head of South and Southeast Asia investments for the strategic investment team of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a US non-profit philanthropic organisation focused on improving global healthcare and combating poverty.

She joined the Gates Foundation in 2013, working as a programme officer in their New Delhi office. In 2017, she moved to the role of principal at the strategic investment fund, before taking her current role in 2022. Srivatsan’s remit covers investments focused in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The Gates Foundation’s strategic investment fund is a $2.5bn fund targeting sectors including healthcare, biotech, and fintech.

Srivatsan has worked a varied career. She started as an auditor with KPMG in India in 2005 for six years, where she qualified as a chartered accountant. She then worked as a freelance travel writer for a year before becoming an independent management consultant in 2012.

In 2024, she was included on GCV’s 2024 Powerlist.

Nichola Bates

Head of ventures and innovation
Boeing Global
Based in London, UK

Nichola Bates is managing partner at Aerospace Xelerated and head of global accelerators and innovation programmes at Boeing Ventures, the CVC arm of US aerospace manufacturer Boeing.

Bates’s business career began in the startup world. In 2008, she cofounded a marketing company, Grow Sales Online, which she was a partner at until 2011. She then went on to found another company, TekTite, a consultancy for tech startups. From 2016, she spent four years as director of business development with Repknight, a cyber intelligence software company for law enforcement.

She joined Boeing in 2017, working at the group’s subsidiary, Boeing Defence UK, in business development. She joined Aerospace Xelerated in 2019, the year it was launched, which sits within the Boeing Ventures CVC.

Aerospace Xelerated is a startup accelerator run by a collaboration between aerospace corporations, including Boeing, GKN Aerospace, Etihad Airways and Rolls Royce, and government-run initiatives, including the UAE’s Tawazun Council and the UK’s Defence and Security Accelerator.

It has invested in and supported over 40 tech startups globally, focused on aerospace and related industries, with a typical initial investment of $132,000.

Among its portfolio companies are GoAutonomous, a Danish provider of an AI-powered system which automates B2B communication, and Ubloquity, which has developed blockchain technology for use in the aerospace supply chain.

Boeing Ventures, of which Bates is head of innovation, was launched in 2017. Its portfolio companies include Hiiroc, a plasma technology developer aiming to allow for cheaper and more efficient hydrogen generation, and Gravity Sketch, which makes 3D printing technology.

Simone Lode

Managing director
HHLA Next
Based in Hamburg, Germany

Simone Lode is managing director of HHLA Next, the corporate venture capital arm of German logistics company HHLA. 

HHLA Next was set up by Lode in 2021 as a subsidiary of HHLA, and has 37 companies in its portfolio, primarily across the maritime logistics sector. These include Fernride, a German logistics automation startup which makes autonomous and remote-controlled vehicles for use in container ports, and Survey Compass, a developer of software for logistics operations. 

Lode’s team invests in startups at the series A stage, when they have a proven product that is in line with HHLA’s strategic direction. HHLA Next also creates its own spinoffs, such as Passify, which makes access management software for shipping facilities, and Heyport, developer of a software for port and berth planning.

Decarbonisation and digitalisation are goals for the logistics industry and for HHLA Next, Lode told GCV in an interview for the 2024 Emerging leaders list.

Lode, who joined HHLA Next when the unit was set up, also told GCV it was important to “be hungry to learn and be open to new things”.

Before HHLA Next, Lode was head of corporate development and strategy at SWB, a German energy and telecommunications logistics company. She began her business career at Deutsche Post Address, a financial services and marketing company, in 2010, rising to head of corporate and business development, where she worked in M&A.