Reporting to the VP of CVC, the Director of CVC drives investment activity across all technology disciplines to support the strategic and path finding activities for National Grid Ventures (NGV), IT, and the core businesses with a focus on expansion stage (series B-D) and growth equity stage (series D+, PIPE, pre-IPO) equity investments. Three quarters of our total investment dollars will be completed in these investment bands.
The candidate is part of a small team who finds, develops, defines, and closes equity investments in order to meet the present and future strategic objectives of various technology sectors within National Grid. Specific activities include:
1) identifying and screening potential deals and equity investments,
2) advising management about the merits of potential deals,
3) obtaining internal agreement on investment negotiating positions and strategies,
4) championing an appropriate number of deals through the NGV investment process,
5) searching for and leading category defining deals that have substantial impact for a business unit or that lead National Grid into new investment areas,
6) providing strategic guidance, management insight, and funding round assistance to improve the likelihood of National Grid realizing the strategic and financial benefits from investments for companies in the investment portfolio,
7) developing investment strategies that support National Grid’s technology and path finding vision, and 8) acting as part of the external negotiating team. The candidate is responsible for deals from initiation through closing, and post-closing management. This position requires a high degree of interaction with organizations outside the company at the executive level.
The CVC team is a global team currently located in the US and the UK, that focuses on generating commercial opportunities through venture investing, addressing end customer needs, and providing insight into innovative technologies by enabling partnerships between the business groups within National Grid and the global technology ecosystem. The position is located in Los Gatos, CA and has considerable coverage across all of the regions. The successful candidate will be a trusted partner to National Grid’s businesses, and their expertise, insights and thought leadership will be welcome and sought after.
- Lead National Grid’s relationship with the entrepreneur and Venture/Growth Capital ecosystems, including:
- Evaluating and conducting due diligence in potential investments and presenting investments to the Investment Committee for approval.
- Closing relevant investments and producing strong financial returns for NGV as measured by net profit, and positive cash on cash returns, IRR, and realized/unrealized gains.
- Disseminating learnings from the marketplace, Venture/Growth Capitalists (VCs), and from portfolio companies throughout National Grid businesses.
- Collaborating with the business units to identify key areas and unmet needs that our CVC pipeline companies could address.
- Partnering with the Group T&I Business Development team to conduct events for VCs and portfolio companies with National Grid and its partners for knowledge sharing and to identify customer/partner engagement opportunities.
- Manage activities associated with the portfolio and VCs, including interfacing with legal, finance, marketing/PR, and accounting.
- Serve as the CVC technology interface for National Grid Ventures:
- Represent NGV at and attend venture and entrepreneur forums (e.g., Disrupt SF, CleanTech Open).
- Develop and manage relationships with other technology investors.
- Speak at external events/panels at industry conferences to highlight National Grids’ innovation activities as a means of facilitating relationships with the technology community.
- Work closely with the broader Group T&I team to ensure seamless effective fulfillment of overall mission:
- Collaborate with Group T&I teams on identifying ventures with promising technologies to meet key business needs for National Grid.
- Share developments and knowledge for inclusion in National Grid knowledge base and internal communication efforts.
- Contribute insights to Group T&I reporting activities to National Grid audiences and support bi-annual reporting on technology and innovation to National Grid senior leadership.
Knowledge & Experience Required:
- Undergraduate degree in Science, Math, or Engineering preferred, MBA degree required.
- Substantial and direct experience in energy, consumer, and IT investing within the Venture/Growth Capital or private equity space. Detailed knowledge and understanding of strategic technology areas, related business models, and trends for energy, consumer, and IT products and solutions
- Utility experience is a plus, with technology, business development, or alliance focused knowledge required
- Understanding of financial concepts and ability to model business scenarios (including pro-forma financial statements and IRR analysis)
- Proven network of relationships in Venture/Growth Capital and technology industries
- Self-starter and strategic thinker with a track record of working from a blank slate in creating strategies and plans for “greenfield” initiatives. Experience interfacing with senior executives of large technology companies or end user customers.
Leadership Characteristics Required:
- Expert communication (written and spoken) and relationship-building skills are critical, as the person in this position will serve an important role for both VCs and entrepreneurs interfacing with senior executives externally and within National Grid’s businesses.
- Ability to establish relationships at all levels within a global business and provide subject-matter expertise and advice relevant to specific business needs
- Strategic thinker with the ability to handle complexity and ambiguity, and correctly prioritize multiple deals and activities while focusing on achieving both short-term and long-term objectives.
- Demonstrated ability to constructively influence decisions and collaboratively evolve the status quo, requiring situational adaptability to act as a leader, a facilitator and a participant
- Drive for continuous development of both self and team members
- Comfortable working in a matrix organization and effectively engaging with multiple stakeholders at various levels in the organization
If interested, please apply here.
