Thurston Cromwell | Digital Thread Podcast | Momenta

Emerson Ventures

This is the first episode in a new series on Industrial Corporate Venture Capital. For this series, Ken Forster teams up with Michael Dolbec, Momenta's Managing Partner of Ventures and the former Executive Director at GE Ventures. 

Thurston Cromwell, Vice President of Development and Innovation at Emerson, is our first speaker. He is the head of Emerson Ventures, the company's corporate venture capital arm.

Emerson Ventures is backed by a $100 million commitment to invest in early-stage companies and technologies in the areas of discrete automation solutions, industrial software, and sustainability. 

Prior to joining Emerson Ventures, Thurston was a member of Emerson's corporate development team, where he was responsible for acquisitions and divestitures. Thurston worked for Cartesian, a Nasdaq-listed software and services company in the communications sector, before joining Emerson in 2015.

Discussion Points:

• What would you consider to be your 'Digital Thread'?
• Could you give us some background on Emerson?
• Emerson made a big splash with your majority stake in AspenTech. What prompted you to make this decision, and how has it gone so far?
• You are in charge of Emerson Ventures, which was recently established. What motivated you to start this, and what is its primary objective?
• What is an ideal investment for you (sector, location, company stage, investment stage, check size, etc.)?
• How do you plan to land the strategic impact from the investments Emerson Ventures will make?
• How do you collaborate with other investment groups or CVCs?
• Every industry has its digital disruptors – such as Tesla for automobiles or SpaceX for space travel. When do you think we will see such disruptors for industrial and process automation?
• What trends and startups are you tracking?
• Where do you find your inspiration?