Johann Boukhors, managing director at Engie New Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2026 Powerlist.
Johann Boukhors has been the managing director of Engie New Ventures, the corporate VC arm of France-based energy group Engie, since mid-2018. The unit focuses on early-stage investments in high-growth startups to leverage strategic partnerships in view of accelerating the energy transition.
Managing at least €150m over the past dozen years, ENV has invested in more than 60 startups globally, with offices in Paris, San Francisco and Tel Aviv.
Every investment is tied to a “collaboration roadmap” intended to pilot the startup’s technology within Engie’s operations before full-scale industrialisation.
Boukhors has reshaped ENV with a sharper business model, creating superior returns thanks to the value brought by the partnerships between corporate operations with startups and early proactive exits recycling equity into new startups. Successful exits include usual M&A liquidity events (such as OpusOne sold to GE Digital, and kWh Analytics to Beazley) but also through secondaries at a satisfactory price (such as Vyntelligence to MorganStanley 1GT and Blume Equity).
ENV had sought buyers for a substantial amount of its portfolio and met with hundreds of prospective meaningful investors as part of the process, which is being overseen by finance and portfolio manager Davide Romeo Nanni.
Nanni commented to GCV, “It’s quite natural to say: ‘Okay, now we are in the position where we have dozens of companies in the portfolio, some of them have matured, have commercial traction and are almost de-risked. This is now to growth-stage funds to take it over.’”
The decision came in the wake of an extensive strategic review in 2024 that concluded that the unit does bring adequate strategic value to business units, and should now be more autonomous, financing new investments using returns from the portfolio rather than cash from Engie itself.
Meanwhile, ENV has continued to back companies in critical energy transition sectors. Recent deals include participation in rounds for companies such as ExerGo, a Swiss startup pioneering next-‑generation district heating and cooling technologies.
After 22 years with Engie, Boukhors has shaped a team and purpose that fits the parent. The result is a unit that feels more disciplined, integrated and relevant.
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:
