Venture capital fund Big Idea Ventures has hired former GCV Rising Star and Tyson Ventures CFO Tom Mastrobuoni as a venture partner.

Tom Mastrobuoni has left his chief financial officer role at Tyson Ventures, US-based meat product supplier Tyson Foods’ corporate venturing arm, to join venture capital firm Big Idea Ventures (BIV).

Mastrobuoni joined Tyson Ventures in 2017 and the unit’s deals since then have included investments in alternative meat producer Beyond Meat, food supply chain monitoring service FoodLogiQ and shellfish substitute developer New Wave Foods.

Global Corporate Venturing named Mastrobuoni one of its Rising Stars in January 2019, two months before he joined BIV’s advisory board. Tyson Ventures had contributed to the firm’s first vehicle, New Protein Fund, as a limited partner in November 2019.

BIV appointed Mastrobuoni a venture partner last month and tasked him with leading the firm’s second fund, the objective of which is to disrupt the food industry.

Mastrobuoni’s move came in the wake of the departure of Tyson Ventures head Reese Schroeder, who has joined another corporate venturing unit, Allstate Strategic Ventures.

Photo of Tom Mastrobuoni courtesy of Twitter.

Edison Fu

Edison Fu is head of Asia development at Global Corporate Venturing.