Gustavo Naranjo has left venture clienting services provider 27pilots to work internally at one of its clients, Holcim Maqer Ventures.
Swiss construction firm Holcim’s corporate venture capital arm has hired Gustavo Naranjo to lead its venture clienting activities.
Naranjo had been a senior consultant for 27pilots, a subsidiary of professional services firm Deloitte that helps businesses set up their own venture clienting operations, a model through which they scout startups to seek solutions to specific problems.
Holcim was already a 27pilots customer and Naranjo will join its Holcim Maqer Ventures unit as venture client lead, having previously helped it organise structured pilot projects where startups can test their technology in partnership with Holcim with a view to the corporate becoming a long-term customer.
“Over the past years, I’ve worked at the intersection of corporates and startups, driving startup adoption alongside industry-leading companies and their venturing units,” said Naranjo in a LinkedIn post announcing the move. “A meaningful part of that journey included supporting Holcim Maqer Ventures from the outside as a partner.”
Holcim has been one of the most proactive corporates when it comes to the venture clienting model. The company told GCV last month that part of the appeal of venture clienting is the ability to forge stronger links between its CVC activities and its business units.
“We went into this venture clienting approach with the ambition to be able to demonstrate quick wins in the sense that we are bringing our business together with startups to solve existing pain points within a couple of months,” said startup partner Bengt Steinbrecher.
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