Former Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce. Photo: Inmarsat

Rupert Pearce, who was CEO of Inmarsat for almost ten years, has a new role in the finance sector. Pearce announced July 26 that he is collaborating as a venture partner with Columbia Capital, a technology venture capital company based in Alexandria, Virginia. As a Columbia Capital venture partner, Pearce will work with Columbia portfolio companies, specifically in the mobility investment sector. Pearce is aiming to bring the company investment opportunities in this area after sixteen years with Inmarsat.

Founded over 30 years ago, Columbia Capital has invested in digital infrastructure, enterprise IT and mobility, has raised $4.8 billion in fund commitments, and today is investing out of its seventh fund, a $600 million vehicle.

“I continue to believe strongly that we are at the beginning of an incredibly exciting period in the mobility sector, as connectivity becomes a crucial enabler of several economic and industrial mega trends, including digitalization, AI [Artificial Intelligence], automation, robotics, IoT [Internet of Things], cloud and quantum computing, big data, next generation Earth Observation [EO] and navigation, as well as the vast challenge to combat climate change. These trends demand mobile connectivity and related services with better coverage, capability, cost, security and resilience, as well as the integration of the cloud, network, solutions and service layers into value-added business models tailored intimately to desired end customer outcomes,” Pearce said in a Linkedin post.