Christina Bechhold Russ, former director of South Korea-headquartered electronics prodcuer Samsung’s Next corporate venturing unit, has joined US-based financial services firm Truist.
As senior vice-president and head of strategic initiatives at Truist’s venture capital arm, Truist Ventures, Bechhold Russ will be based in London, UK, where she had been working for Samsung since the start of 2018.
Under Vanessa Indriolo Vreeland, head of Truist Ventures since the start of 2020, the Ohio-based corporate venturing unit has backed companies including Greenwood, Veem and Greenlight.
The unit (along with PayPal Ventures) has also committed to the $62.1m first fund for Zeal Capital Partners, a Washington, DC-based venture firm that invests in startups with diverse founders across sectors including financial and education technology.
Both Truist and PayPal, along with financial technology producer FIS, have committed to the $75m fund recently closed by Aperture Venture Capital, a seed-stage, fintech-focused venture firm that invests in black, Latin and female founders.
Photo of Bechhold Russ courtesy of LinkedIn.
