Clemens Pfefferkorn

Drove pilot execution and vendor evaluation for AI-driven pricing and promotion optimization at a global fashion and power retailer. Acted as the bridge between corporate stakeholders and the startup vendor, coordinating across engineering, architecture, data and business teams while mentoring the startup through enterprise requirements. Validated 8% gross margin uplift and a ~$1.2B four-year margin opportunity through the pilot.

Built a food tech trend radar as a corporate venturing intelligence tool for a global F&B company. Mapped 18 emerging trends across the consumer food journey by triangulating consumer need shifts, venture investment patterns, startup activity and corporate innovation signals such as patents and M&A. Synthesised through primary interviews with VCs, startups, academia and competitors, desk research and cross-functional workshops. Output: a structured now, near and next landscape surfacing where to scout, partner and pilot, translating technology foresight into actionable venturing priorities.

Designed and ran a week-long AI Executive Trek through Silicon Valley for roughly 20 board members from listed and private European companies. Built around a central question: how will AI reshape corporate governance, and what does that mean for boards today? Site visits to Dexterity, Censia, World Economic Forum, Salesforce, AWS Startups and IDEO, alongside VC roundtables with ACME, Craft Ventures, Playground Global and N47, provided grounded exposure to AI across physical, enterprise and investment contexts. Supported each participant in translating insights into their own governance context through guided group sessions and informal one-on-one sparring throughout the week.

Led an exploratory technology landscaping workstream for a Middle East energy conglomerate, scouting 300+ startups globally to map emerging growth verticals relevant to the region. Evaluated companies across deep tech, cleantech and digital infrastructure, identifying 50+ high-potential matches with structured introduction pathways and clear recommendations for pilot, investment or co-development. The work served as a strategic foundation for defining where the client should focus its corporate venturing activity going forward.

As part of a consortium with Fraunhofer ISI and Prognos AG, contributed to the design and activation of NRW.innovativ, the central interface for North Rhine-Westphalia's innovation ecosystem. The strategy phase was grounded in a benchmark of innovation agencies across Europe and Asia, which informed what the agency should do and how. From there, co-designed the operating model and activation approach, mapping the relevant actor landscape across innovation clusters, regional clusters, research institutes, universities, local companies, investors and public bodies. The activation phase then brought it to life, directly engaging and connecting 1200+ actors across the ecosystem. The project has been running since 2022 and continues today. As a former strategy consultant who rarely got to see what happened after the deck was delivered, being able to follow the ecosystem's growth and stay connected with its stakeholders years later still means a lot.