Reese Schroeder spent five years working with Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, the corporate venturing group of the US-based telecommunications company, before joining it formally in 2004 as managing director.
He said: “In 1999, when the venture group was formed, I was one of the first people who started to work with them. I attended their first investment board meeting and worked with them in setting up the process. I was doing a lot of minority investing. It was natural for that group to seek me out and find a way we could work together. I did not think about working for the group, but how I could help them and how they could help us.
“Our group has been very stable. In a group of basically five people doing active investments, it is a privilege to be the leader when, at 23 years with Motorola, I am only the third most senior person on the team. We have a ton of experience here, which is our secret sauce as we know how to connect companies to the right places in the business.”
Schroeder said one of the things of which he is most proud is orchestrating the split of Motorola Solutions Venture Capital from Motorola Mobility’s unit, when the two companies that made up Motorola were split in two.
He said: “Two years after the separation we have sharpened our focus and the entrepreneur community really understands what Motorola Solutions is about. It gets better all the time and we were very active in 2011 and 2012.”
He studied law at John Marshall Law School and political science at North Central College.
Lessons from the top: Schroeder said: “It is really important to stay closely tied to your business and figure out what the gaps are. It is a powerful tool for a corporation. It is a recognition innovation is happening everywhere. You have to keep your eyes and ears open for the great things happening outside the company.