VantagePoint Capital Partners, a global cleantech fund focused on energy and efficiency, today revealed that former Best Buy executive Kal Patel is joining the firm as partner. Patel is expected to grow VPCP’s “European presence,” and lead its international “strategic partnerships” according to a press statement from the fund.
At Best Buy, Patel worked as executive vice president and president of the comapny’s Asia regional business. He lead a major acquisition of a Chinese company, worked on building Best Buy’s business in transportation, mobility, health and home energy management, and helped run the Best Buy Capital Alpha Fund.
VantagePoint Capital Partners has investments in over 30 energy and efficiency businesses including BrightSource Energy, Genomatica, Tesla Motors, Solazyme, Bridgelux and Switch Lighting. Yesterday, the fund announced its series d investment in Liquid Robotics– a Hawaiian company that makes wave-powered, unmanned marine vehicles.
VantagePoint Capital Partners (formerly VantagePoint Venture Partners, until 2011) has more than $4.5 billion in capital under management and invests in the cleantech, healthcare, and IT sectors.
Best Buy Co., Inc. operates as a specialty retailer in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, and Europe. It offers consumer electronic video products, such as televisions, digital cameras and accessories, digital camcorders, and DVD players; and audio products comprising MP3 players, navigation products, home theater audio systems and components, and mobile electronics. It also offers home office products comprising notebook and desktop computers, monitors, mobile phones and related subscription service commissions, hard drives, and networking equipment; entertainment software...
As executive vice president of emerging business for Best Buy Co., Inc., a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services, Kal Patel leads the company’s efforts to initiate, incubate and implement global growth opportunities while increasing the enterprise’s capabilities for innovation. He also focuses on building relationships with venture capitalists to enable Best Buy to learn from the experiences of others and quickly adapt best practices to advance the company’s business objectives. Patel joined Best Buy in 2003...
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