Global Corporate Venturing Rising Stars Awards 2017: Molly Lahr

Molly Lahr, newly-promoted head of platform at American Family Ventures, the corporate venture capital unit of US-based American Family Insurance and its larger enterprise covering Homesite and The General, might be the ringer for the team at golf but understands the importance of teamwork when it comes to deals.

She said: “While at the Consumer Electronics Show in January of 2015 (it also happened to be my first day on the team, which was so cool,) we met with a company on the exhibit floor.

“The founder was in a t-shirt and laced his pitch with profanity, and we all walked away feeling like we were about to be a part of something big, something special.

“That company, Ring, a smart video doorbell, has grown to become a household name in the connected home space in two short years. Our initial investment in Ring, and each subsequent round, has opened up waves of new opportunities for the fund, our team, and American Family Insurance.

“Each person on our team has had a hand to play in our investment and operating partnerships with Ring. It is a great example within our portfolio of how a team works together to make great deals happen.

“Outside of our dealflow, I am most proud of being a part of a team that works as a driven, well-rounded unit. That would not be possible without the outstanding leadership and mentoring of my managing director, Dan Reed.”

In turn, Reed said: “Molly is moving into a head of platform role for us. She is just been promoted into that role because she has effectively been, as you put it, the glue that holds our unit together for the past couple of years.

“Her relationships to our internal business units have been critical, and she constantly takes the initiative to improve our operations and our external network. As head of platform, her expanded new role, she will oversee our internal business development, our support for our portfolio, and the expansion of our sourcing and partnership network.

“It is a big step up from her current role as senior analyst, but one she is definitely earned through her consistent ‘roll up the sleeves’ approach and sense of ownership that she always displays.”

Lahr joined the American Family Ventures team in January of 2015 as a senior analyst after a year working for startups, Gillware Online Backup and Branch2, in the health technology and software space and two years as a director for the Wisconsin Innovation Network, a membership subsidiary for the Wisconsin Technology Council where American Family Insurance is a major contributor.

Lahr, who is also an adviser to US trade body the National Venture Capital Association’s corporate venture group, said her interest in the venture world started when she was a junior at Creighton University and selected value investing as her track within my finance major.

Creighton is based in Omaha, Nebraska, home of Warren Buffett, a value investor who runs the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate.

And, perhaps similar to how Berkshire Hathaway recycles cash from its insurers to other long-term holdings, Lahr said: “By accepting the head of platform role at American Family Ventures, I feel that I am beginning my journey into the next phase of my career in CVC.

“Building a platform that enables the deal team to move quickly, strengthen its value offering, and leverage enterprise assets will be a difference maker when competing for high profile deals.

“Beyond the ability to move quickly, CVCs need to leverage the platform to move from a ‘push’ to a ‘pull’ relationship with the core business.”