Wellington Management offers comprehensive investment management capabilities that span nearly all segments of the global capital markets. Our investment solutions, tailored to the unique return and risk objectives of institutional clients in more than 55 countries, draw on a robust body of proprietary research and a collaborative culture that encourages independent thought and healthy debate. As a private partnership, we believe our ownership structure fosters a long-term view that aligns our perspectives with those of our clients.
POSITION
As part of the continued expansion of our alternatives capabilities, we are seeking to recruit three (3) Venture Capital Principals for our Climate Innovation Fund (‘Principal’) to each lead one of three sectors for our new venture capital fund focused on climate solutions. Wellington has been investing in private markets since 2003, and the Firm launched its first dedicated private capital fund in 2014. Today, the team currently manages approximately $5 billion in assets across four later-stage, growth equity funds. Our new fund will invest in private companies developing solutions that help mitigate and/or adapt to climate change by materially reducing carbon emissions, providing clean water/air, and providing protection and resiliency against natural disasters as well as enablers of those solutions.
Each sector lead will be responsible for driving the full lifecycle of our investment efforts across one of the following sectors:
- Transportation and Mobility
- Energy, Buildings and Cities
- Food and Agriculture
The Principal will be responsible for building our investment pipeline, including thematic research-based outbound sourcing, as well as helping to develop our sourcing network by building relationships directly with co-investors, industry experts and private companies that address climate change within their respective sectors. In addition to generating deal flow, the ideal candidate will conduct in-depth due diligence of select deals, develop investment recommendations, and manage portfolio positions and relationships. We expect this individual to leverage his or her insight and experience during the investment process, while working closely with others across our investment platform, including our Industry Research team, Climate Research team and Woodwell Climate Research Center partnership.
For the ideal candidate, we can be flexible with regards to location.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS
The following essential skills are required for the role:
- Investment acumen and passion – The Principal will have a successful track record of leading investments in venture and/or growth stage companies, along with a deep understanding of the innovation occurring within their respective sectors. The sector lead will also have functional expertise in some of the underlying technologies relevant to the innovation, including but not limited to SaaS, artificial intelligence/data analytics, IoT connectivity and compute, electrification and infrastructure development. The ideal candidate will be passionate about climate change and have a keen understanding of its connection with the innovation occurring across their sectors. The ideal candidate will also have deep experience with financial markets and employ a fundamental, research oriented, bottom-up approach to investing in private companies and the ability to implement those ideas through a highly analytical and detailed approach.
- Superior collaboration skills – The successful candidate will enjoy being an individual contributor within a highly collaborative team and embrace the benefits of overlapping lines of idea generation. The sector lead will build strong trusting relationships externally with company management teams, industry contacts, clients and prospects as well as internally with colleagues. The ability to take risk and challenge investment views is critical, as is the humility to admit mistakes and a desire to learn from others; the Principal must recognize the benefits of diverse perspectives. The ability to communicate (both verbally and in writing) action-oriented opinions clearly and with conviction and contribute to an open investment dialogue is important.
- Growth mindset – The flexibility and openness to continue learning, evolving and growing as an investor is required. The successful candidate will have a global perspective and creative approach for thinking about innovation and the evolution sustainable investing, including climate impact and ESG integration.
OTHER QUALIFICATIONS
A successful candidate should have the following qualifications:
- A minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in a private markets investment role, including specific experience in venture/growth investing;
- Established industry relationships and network to source deal flow in relevant companies;
- Ability and track record of generating strong investment returns;
- Ability leading and collaborating with experienced, cross-functional deal teams;
- Strong bottom-up fundamental approach to research;
- Strong work ethic and attention to detail;
- Strong interpersonal skills and experience in a collaborative, team-based, results-oriented environment;
- Independence of thought, intellectual curiosity, and an entrepreneurial nature; and
- Strong academic credentials.
If interested, please apply here.
