Johan Carlsson took over Sweden-based vehicle manufacturer Volvo’s corporate venturing activities as president three years ago.
He recently unveiled a new strategy for Volvo Group Venture Capital, saying: “Major items for us are the 2013 investments in DriveCam/Lytx and Ridepal – two companies poised to disrupt business models for fleets. DriveCam has already proven how its driver risk management service benefits fleet owners as well as society, and Ridepal is on the way to letting corporates offer competitive commuting solutions to their employees.”
He added: “For 2014 we are sharpening our focus even more on connected services, as such services will have disruptive impact on our business – the two above items are part of the strategy – and I am convinced the benefit from corporate venturers is even stronger when they are an integral part of strategy execution in the way we organise it within Volvo, where I am also part of the corporate strategy team.”
Carlsson, in an interview for last year’s Powerlist™, said: “In hindsight, it became clear to us we are good investing when we can combine the capabilities of the group with a company which has a new product that is ready for market and ready to be scaled up. This makes for a good investment for ourselves and other investors. That is where our venture model works best.”
He added: “I had an education in civil engineering and business finance. Using these two legs I started my career at a company backed by corporate venture capital, WireLessCar. This was financed in 1998 by Volvo, Ericsson and TeliaSonera, so I was immediately exposed to corporate venturing.
“I was working in the environment between start-ups and corporate capital, where I have stayed in some sense. We were fully acquired by Volvo and I came over to the investment arm. I was four years in the organisation working as an investment director and with a number of corporate strategy roles in Volvo.”