The Third Annual Global Corporate Venturing Symposium brought thought leaders from around the world to London on May 21-22, 2013. We went for you and captured the eight biggest ideas from an exciting two days.
- The big risk facing corporate America is that there is too much attention to cost. There’s a finite limit on cost as a value creator. —Mohamed A. El-Erian, CEO of PIMCO
- The challenge with focusing too much on your core business needs is that if you ask for a shopping list, you’re likely to get near-term thinking. —Geert van de Wouw, MD of Shell Technology Ventures
- It is difficult to get established businesses to move fast enough. Corporate venturing is about accelerating growth and creating optionality. —Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP
- If you aren’t at the table, you’ll be on the menu (message: disruption is going to happen whether you like it or not; question is whether you want to participate) —Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP
- You can’t just go to the business unit and declare, “Here are the key trends we’re seeing.” Instead, look at the business through the lens of a portfolio company. — Nagraj Kashyap, VP of Qualcomm Ventures
- It’s about getting team members in the corporate unit to understand technology shifts. —Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP
- Portfolio thinking is key. Think carefully about what percentage you will spend on core innovation and how much you will allocate to breakthrough innovation. — Deborah Hopkins, Chief Innovation Officer of Citigroup
- CVC is about identifying insights and translating them into strategy. —Claudia Fan Munce, Managing Director of IBM Corporate Venture Capital Group