Elevating the CVC Game: New Leadership & a Push for Industry-Wide Standards
Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) is rapidly becoming a $500 million+ undertaking for major tech players – and a new initiative aims to ensure those investments are as strategic as they are substantial. Nicolas Sauvage, President of TDK Ventures, has been named Chair of the Global Corporate Venturing Leadership Society for 2026, and he’s prioritizing a key development for the industry: a professional certification for CVC practitioners.
This move signals a growing maturity within the CVC landscape, moving beyond simply deploying capital to demanding a higher level of expertise and standardized best practices. Sauvage takes the reins from Bill Taranto and Arvind Purushotham, inheriting a role focused on fostering the global CVC community.
Sauvage’s own track record underscores this shift. Since establishing TDK Ventures – the venture arm of Japanese technology giant TDK – in 2019, he’s built a globally distributed team with offices spanning Silicon Valley, London, Bangalore, and Tokyo. The firm recently closed its third fund, bringing total assets under management to a significant half-billion dollars.
His vision for the Chair position centers on professionalizing the field. The proposed certification isn’t just about credentials; it’s about establishing a common language and framework for CVC professionals worldwide, ultimately driving more effective and impactful corporate venturing. This initiative promises to benefit not only individual practitioners but also the corporations leveraging CVC as a critical component of their innovation strategies.
Tag: Corporate Venture Capital, CVC, TDK Ventures, Nicolas Sauvage, Global Corporate Venturing Leadership Society, Venture Capital, Innovation, Certification.
