Mark Crawford, head at Caterpillar Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2026 Powerlist.
Since taking over Caterpillar Ventures in late 2022, Mark Crawford has been quietly reshaping it from a relatively traditional strategic investor into something closer to an industrial innovation platform – one that mirrors the scale, ambition and long-cycle thinking of its $67bn parent.
The past year has been pivotal. In a venture market that was still digesting the post-2021 correction, Crawford has moved in the opposite direction of many peers: writing bigger cheques. Average ticket sizes are now trending toward $5m, with selective outliers significantly higher, reflecting a conviction-led model rather than portfolio spray.
Last year alone, Caterpillar Ventures deployed more than $50m into funds and direct investments as, following the most recent CEO change in April 2025, management expressed a desire to deploy even more capital – a testament to the work of Crawford and his team.
This is built on great track record and experience. Crawford was previously at a few top-name firms, including Intel Capital for five years and Stanley Ventures for three years. In total, he’s done over 100 venture deals in his career and has deep sector knowledge and experience.
Caterpillar Ventures recently celebrated a decade as a CVC unit by hosting the Cat Ventures Summit to mark $410m invested off the balance sheet, including 20 LP commitments and 42 direct investments, of which 32 are still active.
This hybrid model of direct and LP is increasingly seen as best practice among leading CVCs, but few industrial corporates have executed it with such strategic clarity. The aim is not just deal flow, but intelligence: a distributed sensing network for technologies shaping the future of heavy industry.
Crawford’s investment thesis is equally distinctive. While much of venture capital has been consumed by software and AI, he has leaned into what he calls the “overlooked” frontier of mining technology alongside adjacent bets in electrification, alternative fuels and grid optimisation.
It is a thesis grounded in macro reality: the energy transition requires vast quantities of critical minerals, and the systems that extract, refine and move them must be reinvented.
This strategy has tightened alignment with Caterpillar’s business units. Investments are increasingly paired with structured commercial partnerships, ensuring portfolio companies are not just financial bets but operational collaborators.
Crawford’s tenure ultimately reflects a broader shift in corporate venturing: away from opportunistic minority stakes toward tightly integrated, thesis-driven investing that shapes core business strategy. In that sense, Caterpillar Ventures is redesigning how a 100-year-old industrial giant interfaces with the future.
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:
