Google’s venture investment arm has tapped Craig Kornblau, who ran Universal’s home entertainment business until 2014, as an adviser.
Kornblau, who began in the role earlier this month, is the first adviser for GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, from the entertainment and media industry. He comes to the new role after several decades in Hollywood, having started his career at Disney and later serving for 15 years as president of Universal Home Entertainment. Since stepping down from that position three years ago, he has been advising private equity firms.
David Krane, GV managing partner, noted that Kornblau will bring “a valuable set of skills to share with our portfolio.” He added: “Craig Kornblau is a master storyteller and consumer marketer, honed through his years of experience at NBCUniversal and Disney. At the time when physical and digital businesses were beginning to converge, Craig forged sales and supply chain strategies that were game changers in the media industry.”
Launched in 2009 as Google Ventures, GV is the venture arm of Google parent company Alphabet. It has invested in companies including Uber, Nest (which was later acquired by Google) and 23andMe.
Kornblau tells THR that he has already begun meeting with GV portfolio companies. “When I met David Krane and GV, he was telling me about their 300 investments and how they picked these investments, and it was extremely invigorating,” he says, adding of his work with the companies that “at the end of the day, it’s about how do I add value in ways that could include helping them refine their strategies and look for new avenues for growth or refine their cost structure.”
