Travis Smith joins Siemens Energy Ventures as senior venture clienting manager, where he oversees a training programme for staff.

Travis Smith

Travis Smith has joined German energy technology company Siemens Energy’s CVC unit as a senior venture clienting manager.

His role involves working to identify startup technology that can create value for the Siemens Energy business units. He also runs a programme that trains staff members in venture clienting and gives them the opportunity to get involved.

Venture clienting, where a CVC unit or corporate works with startups outside of its portfolio by acting as an early customer, has been on the rise in recent years. GCV’s most recent Keystone benchmarking survey, released in February, showed 47% of surveyed units performed venture clienting, up from 40% in 2024’s survey.

Smith joined the German tech conglomerate Siemens in 2012. When Siemens Energy was spun off in 2020 he moved across as head of strategic development in the industrial applications division. Before Siemens, he worked at the management consultancy McKinsey and UK oil and gas multinational BP.

Speaking of his new role with Siemens Energy Ventures, Smith said that he was excited to work on venture clienting to develop a “talent pipeline” for the company.

Stephen Hurford

Stephen Hurford is a junior reporter for Global Corporate Venturing.