Corporate Venturing: What it is, why it’s done, and how these investors differ from other capital sources.
With Subject Matter Experts
Brad Lunn - Managing Director, Strategic Finance, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
Greg Cangialosi - Managing Partner, Olive Ventures
Matt Sitter - CEO, AFN
Join AFN CEO Matt Sitter, Brad Lunn, Managing Director of Strategic Finance for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and founder of Blue Magic Ventures, and Greg Cangialosi, Managing Partner of Olive Ventures, to discuss corporate ventures as sources of capital.
In this event, learn to better position your company to get investments from these strategic investors. The discussion will focus on capital raising for companies from corporate sources.
The critical takeaways CEOs will be:
• What is different when you’re raising capital from a corporate source (as opposed to a traditional VC)?
• What motivates corporate VC investments?
• What are ways to connect with corporate VCs?
Brad Lunn
As Managing Director of Strategic Finance for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), Brad Lunn is the founder of Blue Magic Ventures, an innovative corporate venturing and international cooperation initiative that has gained strong traction in diverse global markets. Additionally, he leads transactions that require financial engineering, such as complex system leasing, portfolio restructuring, strategic supplier rescue financing, and acquisitions. Mr. Lunn champions opening new markets and leveraging advanced technologies to enhance and extend corporate strategy. He reports directly to the company’s top financial executive.
Before joining GA-ASI, Mr. Lunn was an executive at Qualcomm, where he led the spinoff of Leap Wireless and established Qualcomm Ventures. Before Qualcomm, he was a high-potential executive at Boeing/McDonnell Douglas. He held increasing responsibilities with high-stakes projects, including Business Unit Manager of two new airliner programs, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), and Customer Financing. He negotiated deals throughout the world. He championed and closed the first lease of airliners in Russia, a groundbreaking effort for the company. Additionally, Mr. Lunn successfully led restructuring of large financial portfolios and large corporate acquisitions.
Mr. Lunn currently serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board for the University of San Diego’s (USD) School of Cybersecurity Engineering. He previously served on the ESET Foundation Board and as Audit Chair of a national governing body for the U.S. Olympic Committee. Mr. Lunn has published cyber liability and financial risk management articles in law and business journals.
Mr. Lunn holds advanced degrees in Law from the USD Law School, and in Management from the Claremont Graduate School, along with an undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Colorado and Harvard. He completed Harvard’s flagship program in Corporate Governance, the M&A program at Wharton, and the strategy program at the University of Michigan.
Managing Director, Strategic Finance, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
Greg Cangialosi
Greg is an entrepreneur based in Baltimore, MD. He serves as the Managing Partner of Olive Ventures, the venture arm of Olive. He also serves as Chairman & Co-Founder of Betamore, Managing Member of the Baltimore Angels, and is a venture partner of Early Light Ventures. In 2001, Greg started and scaled, with no outside capital, Blue Sky Factory, a leading email marketing service provider, that was acquired by the private equity firm, Riverside Company in July of 2011.
Greg serves on the board of the Baltimore Development Corporation and completed a two-year term on NACIE (National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship) for the US Department of Commerce (under Secretary Pritzner). He holds a BA in English from UMBC and is a passionate speaker and consultant on the topics of entrepreneurship, marketing, innovation & economic development. He's the lead author of “The Business Podcasting Book,” a primer on new media for marketers. Greg lives in Baltimore with his wife, Theresa, and daughter, Gabriella, and enjoys traveling and every type of board sport there is; he is a dedicated yoga student and loves to read, write and see LOTS of live music.
Managing Partner, Olive Ventures
Matt Sitter
Matt Sitter is a passionate believer in the power of networks to innovate and realize new opportunities. His career has focused on helping leaders grow, succeed, and to mobilize their teams, organizations, and networks.
Matt’s work has spanned a broad array of industries including Healthcare, Technology, Real Estate Investment, Consumer Products, and Finance (amongst others). He has worked with multiple Fortune 500 executive teams, Private Equity firms, startups, and everything in between.
In addition to his role at AFN, Matt is currently a partner at the Advisory Services firm, Advantary. His experience includes leadership roles at The McChrystal Group, CrossLead, Inc., and MedLever. He has led multiple functions including Product Management, Marketing, Reimbursement, and Product Development.
Matt is a certified Executive Coach, completed his undergraduate studies at Brown University and received his MBA from Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business. He is a proud father and husband.
