In this episode, Jeppe Høier and Andreas Munk Holm sit down with Julien Fredonie, Head of Europe & Africa at Honda Xcelerator Ventures, for a deep dive into how one of the world’s most iconic manufacturing giants is strategically navigating venture capital across Europe.

They explore Honda’s global investment strategy, Julien’s views on Europe’s deeptech strengths, the nuanced role of corporate VC, and why Honda is bullish on European innovation—from climate tech to AI and advanced manufacturing.

This one’s a rare look into how a global player allocates capital, thinks about strategic alignment, and partners with both startups and emerging funds.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 01:10 Who is Julien Fredonie and what is Honda Xcelerator Ventures?

• 02:40 The 4 Strategic Pillars: Sustainability, Manufacturing, Mobility, AI

• 04:15 What "Deep Tech That Sells" Means to Honda

• 05:30 Strategic Projects Explained: POCs, JVs, and R&D Partnerships

• 07:45 Fund-of-Fund Activity: Why Honda Also Backs VCs

• 09:00 Structuring the CVC: The Role of Julien’s Team vs. Internal Honda R&D

• 11:30 What Startups Get from Honda (Beyond Capital)

• 13:45 Deep Tech DD: How Honda Approaches Validation from Inside & Outside

• 23:30 Where Europe Stands Out: Climate, Advanced Industry, AI

• 25:30 Gen 2 Climate Tech: From Environmental to Industrial Impact

• 26:15 The State of French VC and Deep Tech Momentum

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC podcast, where Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier explore the cutting edge of European venture capital. Today’s guest is Nacho Tovar, who leads Corporate Venture Capital at IAG—the airline group behind British Airways, Iberia, and Vueling.

Together, they unpack how one of the world’s most complex legacy industries is retooling itself through deep tech, startup collaboration, and CVC-backed transformation—from synthetic fuels to quantum AI.

This is the CVC playbook for aviation, straight from the cockpit.

🎧 Here's what's covered:

• 02:02 How Childhood Dreams of Flight Became a CVC Career

• 05:12 IAG’s Six Investment Themes: AI, Automation, SAF, CX, Connectivity & Quantum

• 10:01 No Fund Yet—But €200M in Committed Capital Through the Balance Sheet

• 14:30 Why IAG Doesn’t Invest at Concept Stage (And Doesn’t Take Equity in Accelerator)

• 18:32 Nacho’s Career Path: Why Engineering + Accenture + VC = Ideal CVC Operator

• 24:34 Inside Iberia’s Turnaround: From €1M/day Losses to €1B Profit

• 28:47 Co-Investing over Leading: IAG’s Approach to Rounds

• 30:29 What Nacho Brings to the Cap Table: Commercial Scale, Access & Global Brand

• 32:54 The Secret Sauce: Airline Autonomy + Strategic Collaboration

• 34:08 How IAG Unlocks Strategic Value Post-Investment

• 39:23 Why Punctuality, Cost & CX Are All Linked in Aviation

• 44:59 The Airline-Customer Relationship: From Booking to Destination

In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier sit down with Florian Noell, PwC’s Global Venturing & EMEA Startups & Scale-ups Leader. Florian draws on his rare blend of experience as a founder, ecosystem advocate, and now corporate innovator to unpack the evolution—and missed opportunities—of corporate venture capital across Europe.

They delve deeply into what distinguishes enduring CVCs from the 3.7-year average lifespan, how to avoid wasting money as a corporate angel, and the structural shifts needed to transition from optics to outcomes. With both realism and optimism, this is a masterclass on corporate-startup collaboration done right—and wrong.

This one’s for ecosystem builders, corporate strategists, and VCs looking to make CVC work in the long term.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 02:10 | Two Hats, One Mission: How Florian Took His Founder Lens to PwC

• 05:50 | What Great Corporate-Startup Collaboration Looks Like

• 08:30 | Why CVCs Die After 3.7 Years—and How to Beat the Odds

• 11:20 | Structuring for Success: The 10 Building Blocks to a Lasting CVC

• 14:00 | Venture Clienting vs. Venture Investing

• 17:40 | The Case for Later-Stage Investing—If You Can Afford It

• 21:15 | LP Investing as a Smart Starting Point

• 25:50 | Policy’s Role: Useful, But Not the Magic Fix

• 30:00 | Changing the Corporate Mindset

• 34:00 | Why Corporates Don’t Reinvent Themselves—And What to Do About It

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.

This time, we flip the mic: Jeppe Høier, normally the host, steps into the hot seat in a conversation with Francesco Di Lorenzo, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at CBS and an expert on entrepreneurial and innovation strategy.

In this episode, you’ll get the full backstory on Jeppe—from PwC to CFO at a pan-European fund, Heartcore Capital, to building Maersk’s CVC arm, and now shaping Europe’s corporate VC landscape through the EU CVC podcast, newsletter, and summit.

They dive deep into how corporate venture works (and fails), why the immune system metaphor holds true, and what’s needed to build an ecosystem across Europe that actually delivers.

🎯 This Podcast’s Themes:

• From finance to strategy: Jeppe’s journey into venture

• Why CVC is more organ transplant than M&A

• How to survive 3 CEOs—and why you must

• Fund of funds vs. direct investing: what’s trending in corporate venture

• Building Europe’s corporate VC community: podcast, masterclasses, summits

Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:00 | From Interviews to the Interviewee: Jeppe in the spotlight

• 02:00 | Auditor Turned VC: From PwC to CFO of a pan-European fund

• 04:30 | The Maersk Years: Strategy, innovation, and the “immune system”

• 07:00 | Organ Transplant Theory: Why CVCs often get rejected

• 10:00 | Newsletter to Podcast: Building the EU CVC platform

• 12:00 | The European Vision: A fragmented but collaborative ecosystem

• 14:00 | Strategic vs Financial Tension: Why most corporates are confused

• 16:00 | Global Case Studies: TDK Ventures, Woven Capital, Maersk Growth

• 21:00 | The Pivot Playbook: Survive, evolve, stay relevant

• 23:30 | How to Do CVC Right: From metrics to mindset

• 25:00 | Fund of Funds 101: What corporates need to know

• 27:00 | Advice to MBAs: Learn the craft, love the long game

In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier sit down with Nicole LeBlanc, Partner at Woven Capital, the $800M growth-stage CVC fund backed by Toyota. They unpack what it takes to drive real strategic and financial outcomes in corporate venture — and what founders and GPs often get wrong when working with CVCs.

Nicole shares how Woven structures its global operations, works hand-in-hand with Toyota’s business units, and leverages a portfolio success team to shepherd startups through complex corporate dynamics. She also breaks down Woven’s investment logic, from hydrogen to lunar rovers — and why corporate alignment shouldn’t come at the cost of independence.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:40 – The structure of Woven Capital & its relationship with Toyota

• 03:00 – How Toyota Ventures (early-stage) and Woven (growth-stage) complement each other

• 09:45 – Building internal bridges: the Portfolio Success team model

• 13:15 – Toyota’s internal incentives (and the carrot vs. stick approach)

• 15:10 – The CVC cultural challenge: Japan, US, and Europe

• 21:40 – How to spot a “red flag” CVC as a founder

• 31:30 – Toyota Open Labs: a new playbook for startup-corporate collaboration

• 34:00 – Woven’s LP strategy: investing in funds for access, insight & geography

• 39:00 – Learnings from fund investing: what CVC LPs need from GPs

• 42:00 – Final advice for startups and corporates alike

In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier sit down with Zack Weisfeld, the founding force behind Intel Ignite (now Ignite Deep Tech), to explore the evolution of one of the most respected deep tech accelerators in the world. From reinventing how corporates engage with startups to pioneering a "co-founder as a service" model, Zack shares what it takes to build real bridges between enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Here’s what’s covered:

• 03:10 Why Intel Chose to Spin It Out—And How the Ecosystem Reacted
• 06:15 The Three Pillars: Seed, Pre-Seed, and Ideation Programs
• 08:00 What Most Corporate Accelerators Get Wrong
• 11:40 Co-Founder as a Service: A New Model of Acceleration
• 13:25 Why Corporate Mentorship Works When Done Right
• 19:40 Lessons from 14 Years of Building Accelerators
• 26:20 How Mentorship Creates Internal Champions
• 30:15 Aligning Startup Success with Corporate Transformation
• 35:10 Why Mental Health Support for Founders Is a Strategic Imperative

Marcus Behrendt, Managing Partner at BMW iVentures, joins Andreas and Jeppe to explore how corporate venture capital can drive transformation in Europe’s most iconic industries. From autonomy to AI and natural-fiber composites, the episode dives deep into how BMW’s venture arm scans, invests, and hedges across global markets while staying rooted in strategy and sustainability.

🎧 Here’s what’s covered:

• 04:11 Investment Focus: From Smart Supply Chains to Sustainability

• 09:56 The Auto Industry in Flux: Disruption, Legacy & Tesla’s Vertical Model

• 14:31 Integration vs. Modularity: What Will Define the Next Automotive Leaders

• 17:01 Avoiding the Kodak Trap: Why Culture Eats Strategy in Corporate Innovation

• 25:56 Leveraging the Core: Staying Close to BMW’s Strategic Heartbeat

• 28:04 Natural Fibers & Rare Earths: Investing for CO2 Impact and Supply Chain Resilience

• 34:42 Scaling Autonomy in the Real World: From Car Plants to Ports

• 37:33 Europe's Structural Weakness: Legal Complexity and Inconsistent ESOPs

• 44:11 Pensions, Politics & the Case for Venture Policy Engagement

• 47:04 Why BMW iVentures Remains a Single-LP Fund—and Proud of It

In this episode of our CVC series, Andreas Munk Holm and our CVC in-house expert, Jeppe Høier, talk with Marika King, Head of PINC, the corporate venture arm of Paulig.

Marika shares how PINC was born to accelerate core innovation and deliver long-term impact across health, sustainability, and food security. She explains why PINC goes earlier than most CVCs and how they leverage Paulig’s R&D and cultural DNA to validate, support, and scale startups. Marika also offers candid reflections on governance structures, founder dynamics, and how her journey through burnout shaped her values as an investor.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 03:10 Early Stage Investments and Validation

• 16:54 Governance and Structure of Pink Ventures

• 24:00 Lessons in Structuring a Corporate Venture Fund

• 26:34 Understanding the Role of a CVC

• 27:03 Misconceptions About CVCs

• 28:49 Flexibility and Patience in CVC Investments

• 31:29 The Importance of Founder-Friendly Approaches

• 37:10 Marika's Journey into Venture Capital

In this episode of our CVC series, Andreas Munk Holm talks with Bruno Moraes, Managing Director at Wayra, Telefónica’s corporate venture capital arm. With nearly 15 years of experience, Wayra stands out for its focus on driving strategic business value by connecting startups with Telefónica’s core operations across Europe and Latin America.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 03:40 Investment Strategies and Goals

• 04:51 Fund Management and Structure

• 06:32 Geographical and Vertical Focus

• 08:28 Team Structure and Operations

• 19:54 Evolution and Growth of WRA

• 22:56 Incentives and Compensation in CVC

In this episode of our CVC series, Andreas Munk Holm and our CVC in-house expert, Jeppe Høier, talk with Gitte Aabo to explore the world of corporate venture. With a remarkable background that spans 27 years at Leo Pharma, including 12 years as CEO and further experience at GN Hearing, Gitte shares her journey in building innovation initiatives like Leo iLab. She explains how she helped develop digital tools to improve treatment outcomes and diagnostics, drawing on her extensive experience in both board leadership and hands-on management to drive change.

During the conversation, Gitte dives into aligning corporate culture with innovative practices. She emphasizes that success in corporate venturing doesn’t come from following a one-size-fits-all formula but from ongoing, one-on-one discussions with board members and key executives. By integrating strategic insights with practical initiatives, she shares how innovation teams must work closely with the core business to ensure long-term impact, even if the financial returns take time to materialize.

Chapters:
03:55 Establishing Leo Innovation Lab
04:15 Digital Tools for Skin Disease Treatment
05:01 Improving Diagnosis with Mobile Tools
05:16 Philosophy of Patient Focus
06:20 Structure and Funding of Leo iLab
08:10 Challenges and Learnings from Leo iLab
08:28 Collaboration with US and External Investments
09:31 Balancing Innovation and Core Business
11:24 Reflections on Corporate Innovation
14:43 Transition to GN Hearing
15:50 Integrating Innovation in GN Hearing
17:00 Strategic Partnerships and External Innovation
19:52 Challenges in Corporate and Startup Collaboration