Powerlist Q&A – Jacqueline LeSage, Munich Re Ventures

Thomas Blunck, a member of the board of management at Germany-headquartered reinsurance firm Munich Re, said of Jacqueline LeSage, the founder and managing director of its corporate venturing arm, Munich Re Ventures: “Jacqueline has built from scratch in just a few years an amazing venture capital strategy and portfolio for Munich Re Group.

“With an outstanding financial and strategic value for the Munich Re entities in specific defined themes our VC strategy has become an essential lever for our business and especially innovation strategy.

“Jacqueline combines an enormous VC experience and knowledge with the ability to systematically connect these benefits with the structure, the people and the topics of a complex and global corporate organisation.”

Munich Re Ventures also invests on behalf of the parent firm’s US-based subsidiary Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB), whose president and CEO, Greg Barats, added: “Under Jacqueline’s leadership, Munich Re Ventures has established itself as a reputable, professional CVC in addition to an effective strategic partner across a variety of Munich Re businesses globally.

“Jacqueline is frequently invited as a valued speaker to share her vast knowledge of the insurtech space with MR business units and client companies. Her passion, market intelligence and clear and inspiring articulation of innovative opportunities have motivated our leaders in shaping our strategies.

“Jacqueline has not only invested in startups and aligned them with strategic business interests but also facilitated partnerships, acquisitions and in many cases, guarantees of the technology or AI to enhance their competitive edge and accelerated market acceptance. The current portfolio is not only delivering on strong financial performance but also enables Munich Re to demonstrate innovative leadership and differentiation across new business models and products.”

Kelly Rodriquez, CEO of private securities marketplace Forge Global, a Munich Re portfolio company, noted: “Munich Re Ventures’ team has gone above and beyond to help drive value for the Forge business. As a board adviser, Jacqueline has been incredibly supportive, making fruitful connections to both investors and new strategic partners, which has led to meaningful growth opportunities for Forge.”

1. Plans for the year ahead:

In the year ahead, we plan on launching Munich Re Fund II with an evolved investment approach and new investment sectors. After the financial and strategic successes for Munich Re Fund I, we are looking to invest in more innovative solutions and connect more startups to a broader set of Munich Re units.

We are also focused on getting back into the office and connecting (face to face – finally!) with our portfolio companies and co-investors at hosted events and conferences.

2. Pain points and opportunities you have encountered in corporate venturing:

Most CVCs exist to provide strategic and financial returns to their corporate parent. The drive for strategic value has always been a pain point – How do we do it? When during the investment lifecycle? How do we measure it? How do you add value for both the corporate parent and the startup? It is challenging, yet at the core of our existence.

In the almost 15 years that I have been involved in CVC, we have seen tremendous innovation on this front as CVCs have experimented and scaled teams that focus on making the strategic value happen. Some teams are more business development focused, helping startups augment their own business development with parent’s industry contacts. Some are more internal connectivity focused, championing the start-ups within the corporate parent, looking for partnering business units. The challenge with these models is that, as a connector, you are always completely reliant on other parties to “create the value.” How can you guarantee strategic value, to both your corporate parent and entrepreneurs, when you are so reliant on other parties to make it happen?

In order to address these issues, we have developed our own approach which in addition to connectivity takes us deeper into the actual partnering: from the strategy to the structure and terms, to elements of the execution that enable the internal business. So far, we are finding it to be incredibly effective. The challenge always is how do you operationalise these programmes at scale.

3. What do you think all corporations or CVCs could do better to make it a stronger industry?

I believe diversity of thought is a critical component to creating a highly effective venture capital team. Hiring the best and the brightest from different backgrounds allows for a broad spectrum of interesting insights into problem-solving.

Although venture capital investing and technology are highly male-dominated industries, my team has several female investors, including currently three women in the most senior roles of investment leads. The CVC industry not only needs to do a better job in attracting and hiring high calibre women but also funding woman entrepreneurs who are committed to changing the world.

With the emergence of thousands of new CVCs over the past several years, there is renewed “bad actor” reputation risk for all CVCs. The established, professional CVCs have an even greater obligation to continue to demonstrate professionalism. MRV maintains professionalism and discipline from the first pitch meeting, to how we perform due diligence, to how we pass on deals, to negotiating and issuing terms sheets, and especially as board members.

The CVC industry would benefit from establishing educational forums that demonstrate effective operating models to inform parent companies on how CVC works and what is needed to retain top industry talent.

4. For colour, what did you do prior to your venture role or in your spare time?

Prior to my current role as managing director of Munich Re Ventures, I joined The Hartford in 2008 and led its innovation activities. I formed and led the White Stag innovation studio and Hartford Ventures. Both were among the first few groups of this kind at a primary carrier. In addition, I am named the inventor on three issued patents related to new business models in insurance:

• Systems & Methods for Intelligent Underwriting Based on Community or Social Network Data (filed 2011; issued 2014)
• System & Method for Determining Group Dividends (filed 2010; issued 2014)
• System & Method for Providing Group Dividends (filed 2010; issued 2014)

My spare time, particularly during the pandemic, was spent outdoors kayaking, biking and practising yoga. The opportunity to connect with nature was not only grounding but also inspiring particularly when contemplating the next steps as a strategic VC firm.