Blackstone, the world’s leading alternative asset manager, announced that Stevi Petrelli has joined the firm as Head of Blackstone Innovations Investments (BXI Investments) where she will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s internal investments in early-stage PropTech, Enterprise Tech, Cybersecurity and FinTech companies.
She has joined as a Managing Director and, in this newly created role, will work across Blackstone’s Technology & Innovations, Growth, Real Estate, Private Wealth Solutions and Finance businesses to drive these investments, helping accelerate innovation across the firm, the statement said.
BXI Investments invests in early-stage companies that are well-positioned to benefit from a deeper relationship with Blackstone’s many businesses, portfolio companies and extensive global network. Previous investments include iCapital, Canoe, Coupa and Cylance, among 28 investments made to date.
John Stecher, Chief Technology Officer commented: “We are pleased to welcome Stevi to the Blackstone team. She has deep experience making strategic investments within larger organizations and unlocking the value that can be created from scaled players like Blackstone partnering with the early-stage ecosystem. I look forward to working with Stevi as we continue to grow our portfolio with businesses that offer world-class technology solutions.”
Eric Liaw, Treasurer and Head of Corporate Development, added: “We are thrilled that Stevi has joined the BXI Investments team and look forward to building upon our past success in this space as we grow our efforts under her leadership. Stevi’s expertise and relationships will position the firm to partner with many more fast growing companies in strategically important areas.”
Stevi Petrelli shared: “I am excited to join John, Eric and the broader Blackstone team. The firm is in a unique position to partner with entrepreneurs throughout the entire lifecycle of their business, starting at the earliest stages of growth. Younger companies can benefit tremendously from accessing the scale and breadth of Blackstone’s platform, and I am incredibly excited to help drive that powerful collaboration.”
Petrelli joins Blackstone from Goldman Sachs, where she helped oversee the firm’s principal strategic investments portfolio and internal innovation incubation efforts as part of the Firmwide Strategy team. Petrelli also worked on core strategy efforts with a number of Goldman’s businesses and helped lead the firm’s financial technology partnership efforts.
Earlier in her career, she was a Vice President at Point72 Ventures and a member of the Principal Strategic Investments team at Goldman Sachs. In both roles, Petrelli focused on sourcing and executing early-stage investment opportunities in the financial technology space. She holds a BA in Political Science from Yale University.
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