During his time in the US Marine Corps, AaronHaubert was struck by the contrast between the lightning-quick innovative thinking necessary in the combat units and the grinding bureaucracy of the wider military. The question of how large organisations can do things differently has since been his field of interest.
As a director of corporate development at USenergy group CMS Energy, his main focus areas include next-generation renewable energy and the electrification of industry, with more focus on commercial and industrial clients.
A founding member of the company’s internal venture unit, Haubert says this has never been without its challenges, including bringing everyone on board and aligning venture timelines with those of corporate. The flip side, he says, is that it is always a highlight to see the lightbulb moments when people around the organisation start to understand the value of venture.
He put in place processes, helped us begin thinking through investment strategies and theses, and iteratively brought potential investments forward
People just starting in CVC should, above all, be curious, says Haubert – curious about what the problems are and what the potential solutions out there might be.“The best piece of career advice I ever got was: if you want to meet interesting people, do interesting things,” he says.
“Aaron joined the company a year ago when we had nothing but a loose idea of investing in future growth,” says Jim Bernardo, director of corporate strategy at CMS Energy.“He put in place processes, helped us begin thinking through investment strategies and theses, and iteratively brought potential investments forward to help define what was in and out of scope for CMS.”
While it is not yet a dedicated unit, the team is focused not just on venture investing, but also venture building and is set to grow its ranks in the near term. It is going into 2024 with a much clearer focus than it had in its cradle this time last year, including laying the groundwork for building a platform function.
See the full list of GCV Rising Stars for 2024 here.