Chris Picariello, president at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2026 Powerlist.
Chris Picariello has been president of Johnson & Johnson’s corporate VC arm JJDC since 2019. The unit serves as a strategic investor in the global healthcare ecosystem, focusing on transformational innovation that align with the parent company’s core focus areas.
Picariello leads a global team distributed across major innovation hubs within North America, EMEA and Asia, enabling JJDC to access the best science, technology and expertise wherever it emerges.
Founded in 1973, JJDC is one of the world’s oldest continuously running CVCs. It currently manages over 100 active portfolio companies and has invested more than $3.2bn over the past decade. In 2025, JJDC saw continued momentum with 40 initial and follow-on deals and completed five venture exits.
Recent noteworthy JJDC investments include co-leading antibody-based therapeutics developer for cancer and immunology EpiBiologics’ $107m series B; leading the series D round for surgical robotics technology producer Ronovo Surgical; and leading the series B round for Korea-based developer of drugs using targeted protein degradation technology Prazer Therapeutics.
JJDC is also demonstrating its strength as a venture creator. Through its new company creation team, JJDC brings together the expertise, resources and reach to develop and validate scientific ideas, technologies and business models, with the goal of bringing meaningful new therapeutic options for patients.
Critically, Picariello’s tenure has brought closer strategic integration with J&J’s operating companies. In a market where many corporate venture units have retrenched or become opportunistic, JJDC stands out for its consistency, thematic clarity and ability to translate science into scalable businesses.
With prior senior roles at J&J, including chief business officer and CFO of Innovative Medicine R&D, Picariello has paired financial discipline with strategic perspective. As he wrote in his annual review letter, “Our long-term investment philosophy, aligned with Johnson & Johnson’s strategic priorities, enabled us to support breakthrough science and technologies across the continuum of care.”
That philosophy fits Picariello’s description of himself as a “servant leader” — removing barriers so his team can execute at speed while holding them to a high standard on behalf of both JJDC and the wider corporation.
The GCV Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
Here’s a snapshot of their recent deals:
