Vicente Vento, CEO of Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP), was head of mergers and acquisitions for Germany’s largest phone operator before taking over its corporate venturing unit last year.
He recently hired GCV Rising Star Jack Young from Qualcomm Ventures to be head of venture capital, managing a team of 11. Since 1997, Deutsche Telekom has invested more than $2bn in more than 200 companies – with 70 listed in its current portfolio – and DTCP now has “the agility and flexibility of an autonomous investment vehicle with the strength and resources of our corporate sponsor”.
When he joined DTCP last month, Young said: “We are very financially driven, meaningfully looking for returns. This is closer to the traditional venture structure than a normal corporate VC.”
DTCP had been the lead investor in the series B round in Replay Technologies, which was recently sold to Intel.
Vento is also a member of the board of Deutsche Telekom’s Strategic Investments (DTSI) and Telekom Innovation Pool (TIP), and part of outside boards with Ströer Media, Scout24 Group and Strato.
DTSI, run by managing directors Oliver Fietz and Michael Boshammer, was set up late last year to incorporate Deutsche Telekom’s existing corporate venturing units, T-Venture and TIP. It will take on the responsibility of making follow-on investments in the T-Venture portfolio. TIP was founded by Deutsche Telekom in 2012 to take majority stakes in early-stage companies.
At that time, Vento said: “Recognising that Silicon Valley is no longer a region, it is a high-velocity platform, DTSI will allow us to deliver a more agile and consistent engagement model to startups seeking access to our strategic capital. Through DTSI, we are intensifying our commitment to support and encourage breakthrough innovation that produces new and exciting customer services and solutions.”
Prior to Deutsche Telekom, he held various advisory and asset management positions at Morgan Stanley, Blackstone and Royal Capital Management. He has a degree in business administration from ESADE Business School.