You can read Liwen-Edison Fu’s profiles of them as they are announced and we will also have some special announcements so tune in if you have an invitation and you will read more on the site after the launches.
But it is notable how many former awardees continue to step up and thrive as Jordan Williams uncovers as he digs in to their following careers.
Another about to put the finishing touches to his latest step on the career path is Jeffrey Housenbold, managing partner at SoftBank, who will reportedly step down in July, according to news provider Axios.
Housenbold, a former GCV Rising Star award winner, joined SoftBank almost four years ago after it raised nearly $100bn for its first Vision Fund. His deals for the fund include DoorDash, OpenDoor, Compass, Rappi, Memphis Meats, Ordermark, Alto Pharmacy, Plenty, Whoop, Globality, Clutter, Get Your Guide, Katerra, Brandless, Wag, Heed and InMobi, he said on his LinkedIn profile.
SoftBank’s $600m stake in DoorDash has grown in value to $13.3bn, while its $450 million investment in OpenDoor is now worth $2.1bn, Axios said. This track record could see him set out his stall for his own fund – after all SoftBank has been happy to back Housenbold peer Andre Maciel’s new $50m fund when he left.
The experience gained in corporate venturing, however, opens up multiple options from managing another innovation tool set to running a startup. Dave Smith, former head of corporate venture capital and director of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at US-based industrial glass maker Corning and a previous GCV Powerlist award winner, has taken one path and joined beauty company Estée Lauder (ELC) to be senior vice-president for new business development.
Meghan Sharp, another Rising Star, stepped out of CVC into an operating role at a portfolio company, Beyond Limit, before returning to BP Ventures as global head late last year.
But whatever the path, it is clear diversity of experience and background is helpful in creating the conditions for success in this most challenging of roles, as Nicolas Sauvage, head of TDK Ventures, uncovered in his latest interview with Global Corporate Venturing.
You can hear more from him and TDK Ventures in its free workshop with Paul Holland at Mach 49 next Monday, 25th, register here.
