Thorsten Claus, until recently employed in the US office of T-Venture, Deutsche Telekom’s corporate venturing unit, has joined venture capital firm Next World Capital. Brook Wessel, also recently employed by T-Venture of America, is to be found in a new role too − at Australian telecommunications company Telstra Global, starting new businesses in close collaboration with Telstra Ventures, the company’s corporate venturing unit.
The departure of Claus and Wessel follows the departure in May 2013 of T-Venture’s long-standing chief executive officer Georg Schwegler to become a freelance consultant, who left amid a shake-up by Deutsche Telekom of its approach to start-ups, including the establishment of its hub:raum incubators in Berlin and Krakow, and the creation of its Telekom Innovation Pool unit.
Speaking to Global Corporate Venturing, Claus explained that Craig Hanson, co-founder and general partner of Next World Capital (NWC), had made him an offer to join their growing team, which he simply could not refuse: “NWC has focused on building a differentiated venture capital model to help portfolio companies grow in the US and internationally, with their one-of-a-kind European Expansion program. I was deeply impressed with NWC’s thorough sector reviews and intricate, macroeconomic understanding of European industries.”
Claus, a German native, hopes to leverage his European background at NWC: “The track record of Next World Capital has proven that these European networks are effective in delivering real value to portfolio companies. Companies I’ve been involved with in the past, often valued my humble, hands-on operational help and experience. I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves as a principal in this new role at a true financial venture capital firm.”