Viva Ven! Venture Capital Veteran Ven Raju Leads Innovation Works Toward a Dynamic & Productive Future

When Ven Raju became CIO of Innovation Works in July 2021, he had no idea that a little more than a year later he would become president and CEO of southwestern Pennsylvania’s largest seed stage investor by succeeding Rich Lunak, who retired after heading the organization for nearly 20 years. “I decided to throw my hat in the ring and see where the process goes,” says Raju, who previously headed a $600 million healthcare fund at New York-based Northwell Ventures.

Innovation Works retained Korn Ferry to do a national search. After reviewing the qualifications of more than 130 applicants and interviewing finalists, the Korn Ferry team recommended Raju for the top job, which he has held since last October.

“This work is a continuation of what I have been doing my entire career,” says Raju, who grew up outside of  Atlanta and headed north to study engineering at George Washington University. He then earned a pair of advanced degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, including an MBA from The Wharton School and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering. He also received a fellowship to complete a MSc in Public Policy from the University of Oxford, St. Hugh’s College.

“The region’s technology ecosystem is on a good trajectory with $3.7 billion of capital inflow in 2021, which is ten times as much as there was ten years ago and three times as much as there was three years ago. Rich, my predecessor, and my team, have played a pivotal  role in developing a support framework for that ecosystem, and every day my team and I think about how can we continue to support entrepreneurs as their needs change and as the ecosystem evolves.”

To keep the trend line advancing upward, one of Raju’s top priorities is to increase the percentage of capital from within the region that is used to finance early-stage companies. “If you look at Philadelphia, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham, 20 to 30 percent of the funds used to finance tech companies are from resident sources. In Pittsburgh, that number is two percent, and we need to figure out how to catalyze more resident capital to ensure that sustainability support and secure our economic future.”

Raju believes that puzzle can be solved by tapping more deeply into Pittsburgh’s clusters of excellence in research and technology, and by continuing to promote the region’s talented workforce and capital efficiency. “Those advantages are evidenced by companies coming to Pittsburgh and staying as they scale,” says Raju.

“The region’s technology ecosystem is on a good trajectory with $3.7 billion of capital inflow in 2021, which is ten times as much as there was ten years ago and three times as much as there was three years ago. Rich, my predecessor, and my team, have played a pivotal  role in developing a support framework for that ecosystem, and every day my team and I think about how can we continue to support entrepreneurs as their needs change and as the ecosystem evolves.”

He also believes that widespread acceptance of “distributed workforces” allows tech companies in the Pittsburgh region to draw upon talent in other parts of the country and around the world while establishing or strengthening a local presence.

As the beneficiary of federal funding through the Build Back Better initiative, Innovation Works is a member of the regional Build Back Better Consortium. Raju is excited about IW’s role in building out an  accelerator to support commercialization of innovation that comes out of the region’s world class robotics cluster.

IW has deep domain expertise in this realm having built out nationally ranked accelerator programs, including Alpha Lab, Alpha Lab Gear, and Alpha Lab Health. He is also enthusiastic about the possibilities for Riverfront Ventures, which is deploying out of its second fund to support later stage tech companies in the region.

Raju began his career 25 years ago at Choate Capital in New York and was primarily involved in growth equity transactions. When the company wanted to establish a presence in Europe, Choate’s management team selected Raju to head its London office. Over a seven-year period, he built and scaled the European growth equity practice which was subsequently sold to one of United Kingdom’s leading investment management firms.

Raju then joined Chestnut Ventures, managing $800 million on part of a series of funds for early- and growth-stage investments. Under his direction, the firm helped to shepherd a number of portfolio companies,  including Domo, Bloom Energy, and Freshly, to public offerings and strategic exits.

Prior to assuming his current position, Raju also served as an adjunct faculty member at Drexel University and a guest lecturer at The Wharton School. Raju enjoys teaching and looks forward to returning to the classroom in Pittsburgh. While living in London, Raju and his wife, Carolyn, travelled extensively throughout Europe and particularly liked their experiences in the British Isles, Spain, France and Italy.  As the parents of two young daughters, they are staying closer to home these days, where Raju enjoys exploring the Pittsburgh restaurant scene, reading biographies, and playing tennis.

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