Clemens Pfefferkorn

Corporate Venturing  |  Innovation  |  Growth

San Francisco · Hamburg · Cologne · Cape Town

Clemens Pfefferkorn
About Me Venture Associate · Silicon Foundry
San Francisco, USA

Curious by nature, corporate by craft. I'm drawn to the space where structure meets ambition, where the right framework, applied to the right venture at the right moment, unlocks something real.

I believe the most agile minds are rewriting the rules. I believe that authentic curiosity, the desire to create positive change and human connection win (Ubuntu).

Right now I'm thinking about two things: what AI does to how we work, relate, and who we become in the long run. And what it means to find your way back to what makes us human. Both are pushing me to actively disconnect from time to time.

Curious on what brought you here. Let's connect.

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CV
CVCurriculum Vitae
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Curriculum Vitae

  • Venture Associate, Silicon Foundry · a Kearney Company
  • 500+ startups scouted & evaluated across energy & FMCG sectors
  • CEMS in Cologne & Cape Town · Grade 1.1 · Top 2% · Deutschlandstipendium
  • GMAT 740 · TechLabs Data Science
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LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/clemens-pfefferkorn
LinkedInConnect on LinkedIn
Retail · Pilot Studio
Pricing Pilot Activation
Apr 2026
Case Study · Silicon Foundry
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.
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F&B · Trend Intelligence
Food Tech Trend Radar
Dec 2025
Case Study · Silicon Foundry
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.
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Innovation · Insights to Action
AI Executive Trek
Jan 2026
Case Study · Silicon Foundry
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.
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Work Experience
Work Experience
Corporate Venturing & Strategy
Silicon Foundry · Kearney · IMP³ROVE · devonSport
Venture Associate
Sep 2025 – Present · San Francisco, USA
  • Vendor evaluation for AI-driven promo optimization · 8% gross margin uplift · ~$1.2B opportunity
  • F&B food tech trend radar · 18 trends mapped along consumer journey
  • Enterprise readiness assessment for global pharma · 50+ startups evaluated
Management Consultant
Nov 2021 – Aug 2025 · Düsseldorf, Germany
  • Technology landscaping for ME energy conglomerate · 300+ startups scouted
  • B2B business model for health-tech company · €18M bottom-line impact
  • Institutionalized innovation competence center · 1200+ key industry actors
Founders Associate · Employee #2
Mar – May 2021 · Hamburg, Germany
  • Day-to-day operations · cold-calling · expert interviews · GTM strategy
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Energy · Technology Landscaping
Energy Technology Lens Mapping
Jul 2023
Case Study · Kearney
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.
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Latest
LinkedIn · 2025
MCP & Agentic AI — Why Venture Clients Need to Rethink Startup Selection
Venture Clienting
A2A Protocols & The Collapse of Integration Costs
Writing & PressThought Leadership & Publications
Education
Education
International Management & Economics
CEMS · UCT · Köln · Münster · Wellington
M.Sc. International Management · CEMS
University of Cologne · Grade 1.1 · Top 2% · Oct 2023 – Sep 2025
  • Deutschlandstipendium — awarded by German state to <1% of students
  • Thesis (1.0): "From Signals to Evidence: Re-weighting Evaluation Criteria Across the Venture Client Model?"
Exchange Semester · Social Innovation
UCT Graduate School of Business · Cape Town · Jan – Jun 2025
B.Sc. Business Administration
University of Münster · Grade 2.2 · Top 30% · Oct 2018 – Sep 2021
  • Top of class in Corporate Finance
NCEA Level 3
Wellington Boys College · New Zealand · 2015 – 2016
  • Excellence in Mathematics & Physics
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Public Sector · Ecosystem Activation
Building NRW.innovativ
May 2023
Case Study · Kearney
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.
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Toolkit
Technical Toolkit
Tools I Build With
Claude · n8n · Notion · Granola · CB Insights · PitchBook
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East of Eden
Currently Reading
East of Eden
John Steinbeck
"From Signals to Evidence: Re-weighting Evaluation Criteria Across the Venture Client Model?"
M.Sc. Thesis · University of Cologne · CEMS · Grade 1.0 · Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Fabian Sting · Sep 2025
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AcademiaMaster's Thesis · Venture Clienting
University of Cologne · CEMS · 2025
♟️Chess
🎤Debating
🏃Running
🧗Climbing
📚Reading
💡Deep Tech
PersonalLife Outside Work

Let's Talk

Ventures, innovation partnerships, or just a good conversation.

clemenspf.cp@gmail.com