Sorenson Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of US-based private equity firm Sorenson Capital, has hired Chris Downer, a former principal at XL Innovate, the corporate venturing arm of insurance firm XL Catlin.
Sorenson Ventures targets enterprise software and security startups. It raised $110m for its oversubscribed debut vehicle in February 2019, and has since invested in fraud prevention technology developer NS8, financial data analytics platform MX and cybersecurity technology developer CyCognito.
Sorenson Capital’s investments so far include content delivery software provider Fastly, healthcare data analytics software provider Health Catalyst and identity verification technology developer Socure.
Downer joined XL Innovate as an associate in 2016 before being promoted to principal in July 2018. He had previously spent five years at investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, working in its Alternative Investments and Manager Selection Group.
During his three-year stint at XL Innovate, Downer was involved in the unit’s insurance technology investment in the US, Eruope and Asia. He was a board observer for smart sensor maker Pillar Technologies and a board member at microinsurance provider Stonestep.
Image of Chris Downer courtesy of LinkedIn