Andrew Casey is the corporate development lead at US-based financial services firm Vanguard’s strategic business development team, focusing on building and executing partnerships, venture investments and mergers and acquisitions.
Casey had transferred to his current role in 2020 from financial services group Fidelity Investments, where he worked at its corporate development division with a similar mandate.
He said: “I love the aspect of incorporating business strategy with investing. And in the corporate venture capital (CVC) space, it is exactly what you get.
“Additionally, I view the CVC space akin to what venture capital was in the 80s, burgeoning. The number of CVC shops keep increasing, flows deployed are increasing into the private company market and corporations are becoming better and better at participating and even competing for deals against both VCs and PE (private equity) firms.”
Being new to Vanguard, the greatest success for Casey is the formation of this team and the opportunity ahead over the next years. At Fidelity, he helped lead the investment in financial deals facilitator CMG (Capital Markets Gateway), and a few others that have yet to be announced.
Though he considers the biggest challenges to be moving as quickly as VC and PE firms, that is not necessarily a negative aspect, he noted. “Additionally, education into the market about the values of letting CVC units participate is becoming much easier, but still a reality for our industry.”
Casey, who believes CVCs should be as vocal as the traditional VCs, aims to lead a department similar to the current one. “I love the work I do and would treasure the opportunity to stand up a CVC unit, or run one that is already instituted in time,” he commented. “The intersection of strategy, deals and straddling the line of the mothership is great.”
