The Strategy & Innovation team is a newly formed function at CSAA IG with the mission to ‘innovate our future’ by creating new products, services, and ventures that deliver extraordinary value to current and future AAA members. We are aiming high with an audacious goal to create $1B in new revenue in the next decade. Toward this end, we are building a portfolio of growth initiatives through a combination of new business incubation, commercial piloting, venture investing, strategic partnerships, and business development. The result will be new sources of value and relevance to our existing AAA members and club partners, an expansion and diversification of our business, an associated expansion of our member base, and an advantage in the markets we serve.
Position
Reporting to the Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, the Managing Partner of Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) & Labs is responsible for setting the strategy and implementing a professional corporate capital investing program; developing a portfolio of disruptive growth concepts outside of CSAA IG’s core business; and building a new team and office in Silicon Valley where these activities will be co-located. The successful candidate will launch a corporate investing program for AAA that will make financially sound minority investments, primarily for the purpose of deriving strategic insights about our future, and in addition will create a lab where we can partner with startups, experiment with emerging technologies, test new venture concepts, and launch commercial pilots.
Responsibilities
- Build a team that will create and manage a strategic investment portfolio representing minority equity and limited partnership investments relevant to CSAA’s future growth
- Understand the AAA ecosystem and CSAA IG business, including relevant industry, and disintermediating trends and associated opportunities
- Define investment thesis/focus areas and drive deal flow in those domains through active networking with VCs, startups, accelerators, conferences, etc.
- Contribute to the strategy by synthesizing strategic themes and publishing emerging trends and insights for corporate parent and AAA ecosystem stakeholders
- Conduct ongoing research/reporting on venture activity and trends in relevant sectors
- Conduct due diligence and create all necessary materials/memos for investment consideration, review, and/or governance
- Establish pipeline and portfolio management (including operational and financial metrics), manage deal tracking and reporting
Labs
- Provide strategic and operational accountability for a lab focused on disruptive innovation outside the core business
- Create and manage a portfolio of disruptive growth concepts that can individually become $100M+ ventures over the next 10 years, by identifying, incubating and launching new business ventures and partnerships
- Cultivate and leverage a strong network that will connect to potential partners and opportunities
- Scope relevant ecosystem and market landscapes
- Formulate hypotheses and develop business cases based on insights, market research, and competitive intelligence
- Establish pipeline and portfolio management tracking and reporting for operational metrics and overall portfolio value over time
- Foster a vibrant lab environment, buzzing with entrepreneurs-in-residence (EIRs), startups, venture teams, and partners
- Engage the external ecosystem through events, hackathons, accelerator programs, and other programs
Impact
Significant impact on company strategy and ability to compete over next 10 years through venture startups with market-competitive and disruptive products and/or technologies. Accountable for critical strategic insights and positive investment returns over time, ultimately impacting the direction of company and contribution to future partnerships and revenues over next 10 years.
Experience
- Minimum 10-12 years’ experience in venture capital investing, with 3+ years in a CVC setting; experience developing and managing a venture investment team, including leading and negotiating direct minority investments
- Relevant experience in a managerial role, with responsibility for innovation labs, new business creation, product management, strategic business development and/or corporate innovation
- BA/BS required, ideally in a technical field; MBA preferred
- Successful investment track record with demonstrable strategic and financial ROI
- Strong passion for and strategic visioning ability to imagine the future, and help others see the possibilities through your gifted communication and storytelling abilities
- Intellectually curious and well-versed in disruptive technology trends, products and business models, preferably those in sharing economy, IOT, connected car and future of mobility, next-gen insurance models
- Fluent and experienced in agile, design thinking and lean innovation tools and methods
- Master networker with cooperative relationship building skills and an extensive VC and entrepreneur network in Silicon Valley and beyond
- Operating experience in a VC-backed startup preferred
- Self-starter with a bias for action, speed, and results
- Persuasive communicator and thought partner
If interested, please apply here.
