Geert Van de Wouw became managing director of Shell Technology Ventures in April last year. He has previously worked across Shell since joining it in 2003. He led Shell’s supply chain response to economic turmoil in Europe during the winter of 2011-12 and the spring of 2013.
What is the future of your sector?
Van de Wouw said: “Bright. The timing for corporate venturing groups is almost perfect, as entrepreneurs and venture capital firms (VCs) increasingly recognise the strategic value we can bring to the table – pilots and demos, lab tests, acting as launching customer, client and supplier network, technical expertise, global reach and money. However, the corporates therefore need to meet these requirements and deliver on their value promise, and make quick decisions through a mean and lean investment process.”
However, Van de Wouw added: “Unfortunately, we see fewer VCs spending money in the energy sector, as their funds have reached the end of their investment window and they struggle to raise new funds. Others are moving to later stage or are retreating to safer investment areas that generally require less capital and have shorter time horizons to commercial deployment, like software, big data and cyber security. Shell Technology Ventures and Shell Gamechanger, our seed capital fund, can fill part of that gap, as we are stage agnostic and quite experienced in doing early-stage investments, but we still need a vibrant VC community to co-invest with us and provide investment and VC expertise within the syndicate.”