Andreas von Richter (pictured at Ecosummit), partner at Ecomobility Ventures (EMV), a multi-corporate venturing firm set up by France-based companies, has left to join peer Aster Capital.
Aster Capital, formerly Schneider Electric Ventures, backs startups based in Europe, North America and Asia, and has three corporate limited partners, Alstom, Schneider Electric and Solvay, as well as the multilateral European Investment Fund.
During his time at EMV, von Richter had sat on the boards of EZ Wheel, Ouicar and Campanda, and was a board observer on LocoMobi.
Before joining EMV, von Richter worked for Saudi Aramco Ventures and before that for General Electric between 2005 and 2013 as a vice-president at its venture capital unit, focusing on the energy, water and transportation sectors.
Von Richter, who was unavailable to comment, was the last partner for EMV that operated separately to its co-manager, Idinvest, the VC firm that spun out from insurer Allianz in 2010. Idinvest was unavailable for comment.
Francois Badoual, CEO at Total Energy Ventures, one of the limited partners behind EMV, said by email: “EMV continues. IdInvest is in charge of its management.”
SNCF, Orange, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Total had joined forces in 2011 to create the €40m EMV, Europe’s first investment structure led by a group of industrial companies and dedicated to sustainable mobility, though Peugeot subsequently dropped out. Air Liquide group (via its venture capital subsidiary Aliad) and Michelin then joined EMV in January 2015.
EMV was originally led by Fabienne Herlaut, who set it up as a multi-corporate fund in 2012 out of her earlier work for train operator SNCF’s Ecomobilite Partenaires corporate venturing fund from 2007. She left in October 2014, a year after another partner, Nicolas Louvet, left (he now works for VC Serena Capital).