As president and general manager of venturing and emerging brands, Deryck van Rensburg has been in his corporate venturing role at US-based soft drinks company Coca-Cola North America for six years. He has worked in the consumer product goods (CPG) industry for 26 years, first at Anglo- Dutch group Unilever and now at Coca-Cola. His role before his corporate venturing position was as president of the company’s Germany and Nordic division based in Berlin. He has an MBA from University of Bath.
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Van Rensburg said: “Corporate venturing within technology-intensive industries has been around for some time. However, venturing with intangible assets such as brands is a relatively recent and exciting phenomenon. Although internal brand development and acquisition have been the predominant growth strategies adopted by CPGs, accessing innovative entrepreneurial brands through a venturing strategy provides interesting options and learning for incumbent corporations seeking to strengthen their brand portfolio.”