These are the 50 early-career professionals who are rising fast in the corporate venturing industry.

Business development a key skill for today’s Rising Stars

What is striking about this year’s list of Rising Stars in corporate venturing is the number of award winners who work in the business development function of their teams. This role, which involves connecting the startups in the portfolio with projects and business opportunities at the parent company, is seen as increasingly pivotal for a CVC unit. Often, it is this part that makes one CVC stand out from the rest.

Many of the business development people on our list have long years of experience at the parent company and have been brought in to use their deep internal networks to help the investment team make those connections across the business units. Some business development professionals are the first in their company to hold this role. They are often learning as they go about the best way of getting things done. That pioneering spirit makes them great candidates for the Rising Stars list.

Again and again, Rising Stars told us that understanding the operations and strategy of the parent company is the most crucial element of their role. Strong networks are essential.

On the other hand, there are also a lot of former entrepreneurs on this list, people who had started companies in the past and never lost their excitement for setting up something new. Although they may be sitting on the other side of the negotiating table, they bring tremendous empathy for the challenges entrepreneurs face and are seen by startups as valuable, insightful allies.

GCV has profiled the Rising Stars of the corporate venturing industry since 2016, but I do not think we have ever had a more gender diverse list. Some 44% of the professionals featured on the list are women, which augers well for the future of the industry, as the Rising Stars continue their career paths and start to take on the top roles in corporate venture. We also have entries from a variety of countries. The US, which has the longest tradition of corporate venture capital, dominates the list, but we also feature several entries from Brazil, Japan, Germany, Sweden and South Africa.

This is something we see elsewhere in our research – with dozens of new corporate investment units springing up in the past few years in places such as Brazil and Japan, CVC is becoming a truly global activity.

It is also – even in these challenging markets – a fun job.

Rising Stars 2024 (alphabetically in order of surname) 

Download the 2024 GCV Rising Stars list here

See GCV’s list of Emerging Leaders for 2024

These are mid-careers stars in corporate venturing