Crispin Leick

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT CRISPIN LEICK

Are you a founder in the digital & sustainable energy space? Please send your pitch deck to d•••••••@env.vc Are you running or setting up a CVC? Are you interested in one of our portfolio startups? Please get in touch at c••••••@env.vcDo you want to learn more about my journey into CVC and what type of investor we are? Have a look at the video podcast Corporate Venturing Insider -> the MD of a Corporate Venture Capital Fund, I am passionate about supporting early-stage companies with business models enabled by sustainable & digital technologies. With over 15y of experience in the VC industry, I have a proven track record of identifying and investing in high-growth startups that have the potential to transform industries. Each of our entrepreneurially driven portfolio companies could have a material impact on EnBW’s core business. At EnBW New Ventures (ENV), I lead a team of seasoned professionals investing in startups that align with the megatrends we believe in: electrification, decentralization, and digitization. Ultimately these megatrends lead to sustainable businesses.Throughout my career, I have been driven by the energy transition. After studying Chemical Engineering, I started at WINGAS believing that natural gas is the bridge to renewables. Thereafter at ENRON, I learned with the liberalization of the energy markets that energy only is not enough, but available capacity and exact location determines the value for the end user. It was ENRON that allowed me to expand my toolbox by joining the exec-MBA program from GSB Chicago. For REpower Systems, I explored new markets for wind turbines and later on joined RWE Innogy, helping to merge all different renewable energy generation assets of RWE into one unit.Prior to joining ENV, I set up my first fund - Innogy Venture Capital - with a focus on cleantech investments and enabling technologies. 40 Transactions and 12 portfolio companies later, EnBW connected with me and asked me to build their CVC unit. Building ENV with the learnings from my first fund, keeping the things that went well, and improving on the ones that didn’t is exciting. Delivering solid returns and impacting our corporate backer is a tremendous opportunity. Our team has executed more than 65 transactions into 20 startups & 3 VC funds and realised already 5 successful exits.Building & operating sustainable infrastructure in Europe for the energy and mobility markets is a huge task for EnBW. Finding startups that support and scale with this task is a great motivation every day.