Chile-based energy and retail group Copec has hired Brian Walsh to head its strategic venture capital unit, Wind Ventures.
Walsh said further details would be made public after his move to Wind Ventures later this month, but that the unit would “leverage Copec’s significant resources to accelerate startups and scaleups in realising new growth” across Latin America and the US.
Walsh had been a senior expert for corporate startup engagement and corporate venturing at management consulting firm McKinsey and had spent more than two years advising Fortune 500 clients on ‘best fit’ startup engagement models such as corporate VC, partnerships and accelerators.
The McKinsey position cane after a brief stint overseeing office equipment supplier Konica Minolta’s innovation strategy and new venture development efforts for North America in 2017. He had previously been co-founder and CEO of dairy data startup Vital Herd.
Copec has been moving into innovative energy activities including a solar project that will combine photovoltaic and solar thermal generation with energy storage capabilities.
Photo of Brian Walsh courtesy of LinkedIn.
