I am delighted to announce the hiring of Steve Taub as JetBlue Technology Ventures’ (JTV) Managing Director of Investments. In this role, Steve is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, negotiating, structuring, and closing venture investments for JTV, as well as leading and mentoring the investment team.
I sat down with Steve to share his past work experience and what he’s most excited for in this new position.
Q: What was your background prior to joining JTV?
A: To start from the beginning, I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University and then my Master’s degrees in Technology and Policy and Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following school I lived in Washington D.C. for several years working for the U.S. Department of Energy office of Environmental Management and office of New Production Reactors.
While I enjoyed the environmental work, ultimately I took an interest in the private sector and joined Cambridge Energy Research Associates, where I consulted for global energy technology and electric power companies.
Due to my extensive work in the energy field, GE Capital then recruited me to evaluate clean energy project finance opportunities like wind and solar power as a Senior Vice President. We started investing in energy-focused startups and I became a full-time member of the venture capital team, and subsequently a founding member of the GE Ventures subsidiary where I served as Managing Director focusing on energy and advanced manufacturing.
Most recently, I served as an Investment Partner at In-Q-Tel, a nonprofit venture fund that supports the U.S. government’s intelligence and national security agencies.
Q: What interests you most about the future of travel?
A: I’ve been an “AvGeek’’ from a young age. My father was an aerospace engineer at a major defense contractor and some of my fondest childhood memories were his company picnics that featured air shows with real fighter jets. How cool is that? As a kid I used to build model airplanes and read dad’s Aviation Week & Space Technology magazines.
Beyond that, I’m an avid traveler myself, which makes me more empathetic to the customer pain points or technology shortcomings that people experience every day. I’m excited to be on the other side now to bring innovation to the industry.
Q: Which of our investment themes are you most excited about?
A: Given my background, I’m really excited to dig into sustainable travel and next-generation aviation operations, two personal passions of mine.
Q: What’s your life like outside of work?
A: My wife Ann and I have been together since my undergraduate education and we have two children, Nathan (19) and Alice (13). We currently live just outside of Boston but plan to make the trek to move to the Bay Area once Alice is finished with the school year this spring. Our family also includes two dogs, a Wheaten Terrier named Taza and a Labradoodle named Data (like Star Trek!)
A fun fact about me is that I have a collection of about 50 vintage wristwatches of all ages and styles. Someday I’d like to learn how to fix them myself!
Please join me in congratulating Steve on his new role via the comments below! If you’d like to learn more about JTV, please visit our website and sign up for our weekly newsletter.
