Venture veteran Erik Sebusch has joined US-based venture capital firm CMEA Capital as a strategic relations partner from mail delivery company UPS’s investment division.
Sebusch has more than 15 years of investment experience as a venture capitalist, entrepreneur and a limited partner (LP) and most recently he managed commitments to private equity, venture capital and real estate funds for UPS’s pension fund, UPS Investments.
Prior to that role, Sebusch worked for 10 years in the UPS Strategy Group’s corporate venturing division, where he was responsible for taking equity positions in start-ups and co-investing with venture capitalists in seed to early stage portfolio companies.
UPS had an evergreen funding model where capital was drawn from the company’s balance sheet to make strategic investments in emerging technologies that might provide greater understanding of the evolution of its business and those of its customers.
After graduation, he worked at investment bank Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s high net worth department providing access to deals.
Sebusch said: "The future of investment firms depends on how well [they] can sync with the needs of LPs, which are under incredible pressure to provide solid returns in a volatile investment environment. I look forward to using my network and inside knowledge as a former LP to help CMEA best meet our LPs’ needs. This is a new type of role where I can be a translator between the VCs, entrepreneurs and corporations, all of which are strategic relations but talk different languages."
Jim Watson, managing general partner at CMEA, said: "The firms that know exactly what their LPs want and can customize funds to meet those needs are the ones that will thrive despite the capital crunch."
CMEA has reportedly received $50m cornerstone backing for its latest fund from drugs company Eli Lilly, according to newswire Bloomberg. CMEA, which has had close relations with US companies DuPont, IBM and 3M since launch, declined to comment on fundraising for regulatory reasons.