Mentoring the next generation of leaders and investors is critical to the success of our parent companies, the expansion of investment opportunities, and the growth of the world economy. Although most of the top 50 corporate venture investors have women in their senior investment ranks, there is still much work to do to bolster diversity throughout the corporate venture capital community and beyond.
During the 2018 Global Corporate Venturing & Innovation (GCVI) Summit, Intel Capital president Wendell Brooks challenged the CVC community to hire at least one diverse intern this past summer, and an enthusiastic response by many of the industry through the GCV Leadership Society, included a five-part workshop set up by GE Ventures at which Brooks was an opening speaker.
Brooks said: “It was good to see many of you at the GVCI Summit. As our intern recruiting efforts are in full gear, I wanted to follow up with you on the challenge I laid out at the event for each CVC to hire at least one female or underrepresented minority intern this summer.
“Intel has a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. I personally feel responsible for changing the talent pipeline and ensuring broad representation. Hiring and developing interns who come from diverse backgrounds is one of the ways we can do this.
“As Sue Siegel reminded us in her remarks, when it comes to diversity, we have a responsibility to ourselves, we have a responsibility to each other, and we have a societal responsibility. Imagine the power we can have to create change if we work together in this way.”
Leadership Society signatories included:
Grant Allen, head of ventures, ABB Technology Ventures
John Banta, executive director, venture team, BlueCross BlueShield Association
Brian Schettler, managing director, Boeing HorizonX Ventures
Scott Brown, vice-president ventures & outreach, CableLabs
Jaidev Shergill, head of Capital One Growth Ventures
Amy Banse, managing director & head of funds,Comcast Ventures
Sue Siegel, chief innovation officer and CEO of business innovations, General Electric
Bonny Simi, president, JetBlue Technology Ventures
Tom Heyman, global head of JJDC, Johnson & Johnson Innovation–JJDC
Ian Simmons, vice-president, business development corporate engineering and R&D, Magna International
William Taranto, president, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund
Nagraj Kashyap, corporate vice-president, global head, Microsoft Ventures
Warren Pennington, principal fintech strategies, Vanguard Group
John Doherty, then senior vice-president, corporate development, and president, Verizon Ventures
Akira Kirton, managing director at BP Ventures, added after his panel on the topic at the GCV Symposium in May: “This is an area that a number of us in the CVC world also care passionately and deeply about.”
His boss, David Gilmore, vice-president, said its gender ambition was to have 30% of senior leaders as diverse. Overall, a majority of the industry’s Rising Stars are female or minority or both, as nearly half of corporate venturing’s top leaders included in the GCV Powerlist 2018.
Wendy Lung, head of IBM Ventures, said diversity was part of its hiring practices and William Taranto, president of the Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, said while the group did not hire interns it did hire a minority analyst.
Geert van de Wouw, vice-president of Shell Ventures, caught the general mood, saying: “I herewith wholeheartedly and passionately support Intel Capital’s Wendell Brooks’ call for more diversity in our corporate venture capital industry.
“In 2017, we have doubled the size of our Shell Ventures team, but found it particularly tough in that process to find female VC talent, as the VC industry is – unfortunately – still very male-dominated. I am a firm believer of diversity in teams, as this drives diversity of views and perspectives in our teams, which is key to the decision-making quality of any venture firm.
“It is for this reason that Shell Ventures has embarked on a conscious initiative – as part of our Shell Ventures 2.0 Improvement Plan – to hire more female and underrepresented minorities in our team. I am leading this effort together with Ashley Smith in my team, who is equally passionate about this initiative.
“We have come to the realisation that, besides our continued efforts to hire external female and minority talent into Shell Ventures, for example for our growth plans in China, we also have to be very deliberate in growing our own talent through hiring female / minority talent into more junior positions at Shell Ventures. These roles can be investment associates or Interns.
“I am committed to making this happen at Shell Ventures and am glad to join Wendell in an open letter to the CVC community, extending this challenge and endorse this important initiative!”
Similarly, Thomas Rodgers, head of McKesson Ventures, added: “I appreciate this initiative and the spotlight the industry is shining on diversity and inclusion. I also thought I would pass along that I can proudly claim that the McKesson Ventures team is comprised of 70% women and 40% persons of colour.
“However, we have a way to go before we can make similar level of claims about our portfolio CEOs. But we have made strong progress on that front as well over the past year.”
And groups are setting up dedicated funds to help. Microsoft’s M12 corporate venturing unit, Silicon Valley Bank and VC firm EQT Ventures this summer launched a contest to fund enterprise startups with at least one female founder.
Unilever Ventures has set up a fund for women, New Voices Fund, as part of Unilever’s agreement to acquire New York-based Sundial Brands, which makes hair and skincare products for people of colour.
Earlier, Intel Capital in 2016 announced a $125m initiative to seek out qualified technology entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds. And Intel Capital has exceeded its dollar commitment and by the end of last year had more than 45 diverse teams with over $250m of capital in our portfolio.
Brooks in his GCV Powerlist 100 award profile said: “In 2017, we more than doubled our 2016 record for backing diverse companies, and those diverse companies represented over 20% of our total investments in 2017. “
By comparison, in the next five years, female-focused organisation All Raise said it would like to see venture investments in female-founded companies move to 25%. Data provider Crunchbase’s review over the past 10years found 2015 was the first year that companies with at least one female founder passed the 10% threshold by venture dollars, while last year was the best full-year at 14%. So, while work remains to be done, the result of the top-down focus on attention and change comes results and a groundswell of new entrants that promises an even-more diverse, successful industry in future.
Sue Siegel, chief innovation officer and CEO of business innovations, General Electric
Did you complete the challenge?
At GE, we believe that diversity and performance go hand in hand. We have always been strongly committed to diversity and inclusion – it is part of our competitive advantage. We apply that same belief to our intern program by hiring interns with a wide range of backgrounds and expertise.
Tell us more.
We hire summer interns to support the various disciplines in GE Ventures. This includes equity investing, licensing and business creation, as well as functional roles in marketing, commercial development, risk and portfolio management and finance. We hire interns with diverse backgrounds and expertise. This summer, our intern class came from all over the US and abroad, and did an excellent job contributing to our teams and providing unique perspectives. The summer intern program culminated with a series of portfolio company site visits and workshops. Our interns also participated in GE Ventures’ diversity and inclusion workshops with the entrepreneurial ecosystem to see how startups can adopt this important practice.
Lessons learned.
We are committed to an environment where all employees contribute and the best ideas win every day. We fundamentally believe that diversity of thought and experience results in better business outcomes.
Plans for the future surrounding diversity and inclusion.
At GE Ventures, we want to help the startup ecosystem solve for diversity and inclusion. We recently developed a framework for bringing greater clarity to building a diverse startup ecosystem. We call it R2P2 – recruit, retain, promote, and protect. The R2P2 framework encapsulates the core areas of focus that every startup company needs to consider when designing and growing their team. Over the past few months, our team hosted five diversity and inclusion workshops in key ecosystems where we work and invest, including Chicago, London, Boston, New York and Menlo Park. We convened 180 individuals, over 120 organisations, venture capital teams, startups, nonprofits to discuss ways to recruit, retain, promote and protect diverse talent. It is a great program that we will continue to offer our portfolio companies and ecosystem partners.”
Bonny Simi, president, JetBlue Technology Ventures
Did you complete the challenge?
We completed the challenge and hired a young woman as our summer intern.
Tell us more.
Our intern, Jamie H, attends Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide and is pursuing a bachelor’s in science in aeronautics. She came to us through the Brooke Owens Fellowship program for women interested in aerospace and aeronautics. She has a passion for aviation and co-founded the non-profit organisation Youth Aviation Programs Association. She is specifically interested in reaching women, lower-income young people and youth of colour to encourage them to pursue their dreams.
In what area did the intern work?
Jamie was exposed to Silicon Valley and corporate venture capital through participation in team meetings and attending various startup pitches during the summer. She learned about many new companies and technologies transforming travel and how the business of corporate venture capital works. She also worked on two community projects. She worked with the local Hiller Aviation Museum to help them develop promotional videos and she worked with the Girl Scouts of Northern California to develop programming to establish an Aviation Badge. She presented a business case for an aviation badge, sample curriculum and 24 letters of support from various aviation organisations nationwide. During the summer she travelled to New York, Washington DC, southern California and Colorado for meetings with other museums, Nasa, legislators and regulators, and the Aviation Community Foundation Board.
How did the internship go?
The internship was a resounding success. From JetBlue Technology Ventures’ perspective, Jamie brought a fresh energy and perspective to the office and a youthful enthusiasm for everything she worked on and was exposed to. She created a compelling case for the Girl Scouts Aviation Badge and culminated her internship with a presentation to the CEO of the Girl Scouts of Northern California. JetBlue is very community focused and creating opportunities to expose young women and underrepresented groups to the world of aviation is a priority. She was also able to directly connect a portfolio company with the 2018 Brooke Owen’s Fellow Grand Challenge project focusing on coastal relief.
From Jamie’s perspective, it expanded her world view in a myriad ways. She lives in North Carolina and had never been west of Wisconsin, so to live and work in Silicon Valley was life-changing. She learned how the work environment in Silicon Valley is significantly different from what she had been used to. She had never travelled on a jet prior to her internship and by the end of the summer she was a seasoned traveller. She learned about startups, venture capital, how to craft and deliver an effective presentation, how to story board, outline, write and direct YouTube videos, and made contacts all over the country. She developed a greater confidence and sense of self through her work and time here. Over the summer through her contacts related to the projects she was working on, she had been offered several jobs. At the end of her internship, she accepted one of those jobs and is now working for the Aviation Community Foundation and is back in school.
Plans for the future surrounding diversity and inclusion
As we make any new hires we make sure to have a diverse slate of candidates for interview.
Ian Simmons, vice-president, business development at Magna International
Did you complete the challenge?
Yes.
Tell us more.
As part of our intern intake this year, I had four university students from a business and engineering background.
In what area did the intern work?
Innovation development.
How did the internship go?
A broad selection of tasks, both technical and commercial. Both parties were pleased with the experience and results. We hired one young woman who is attending -Perdue to join after graduation in 2019.
Lessons learned.
Orientation should give more information on the Magna Groups and their products and technical challenges.
Plans for the future surrounding diversity and inclusion.
Magna will continue to expand its internship program and outreach to attract a diverse mix of applicants who hopefully we can hire from.
Brian Schettler, managing director, Boeing HorizonX Ventures
Did you complete the challenge?
Yes, we brought in two underrepresented minority individuals and they are still employees with HorizonX ventures
Tell us more.
One intern was a former Merrill Lynch employee and the other was fresh out of undergrad.
In what area did the intern work?
Both in venture investing.
How did the internship go?
A great opportunity to grow a bench of strong investment professionals.
Plans for the future surrounding diversity and inclusion.
It will continue to be a pillar of our hiring and investment philosophy.
