Corporate Startup Stars is the annual celebration of the best global practices
and role models in open innovation
Organized by Mind the Bridge in partnership with the International Chamber of Commerce, the CSS recognizes trailblazing international companies in the area of corporate-startup collaboration
Awards Categories
Corporate Startup Stars
2025 Agenda
Mayer Brown, 10 avenue Hoche 75008 Paris
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18:00-22:30 CET CSS & SES Networking Cocktail Reception Hosted by
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ICC Headquarters, 33-43 avenue du Président Wilson, Paris
Close door events restricted to invited participants
2025 Corporate Startup Star
Winner Orbit
2025 Pictures
2025 Corporate Startup Stars
Special Category Awards
2025 Rising Stars
Evolve or be Extinct
In December 2025, in Paris, during the closed-door session of the 10th edition of the Corporate Startup Stars Award – organized by Mind the Bridge in partnership with the International Chamber of Commerce – we had the opportunity of engaging with heads of innovation from several of the world’s Top 100 most innovative corporations.
We asked five core questions:
How much?
How do you expect Open Innovation budgets to evolve in 2026? Up or down?
Where?
Which areas and tools of Open Innovation are gaining momentum?
Who?
How is the role of the Open Innovation executive evolving beyond “innovation” per se?
How?
Which KPIs are used to measure success and impact?
What?
What are the main priorities – and key challenges – looking ahead?
The session provided a valuable opportunity to exchange insights, assess which Open Innovation tools have proven effective in practice, and explore priorities and plans looking ahead.
Methodology
Mind the Bridge, in partnership with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) developed a framework to recognize the best companies in Open Innovation and Corporate-Startup Collaboration. Forbes 2000 and Fortune Global 500 companies based on publicly available information were analyzed and the best in Open Innovation were presented to a Judging Committee composed of independent experts from different innovation backgrounds.
In sum, overall results achieved across seven Open Innovation variables were factored: Innovation Organizational Structure, Intrapreneurship, Accelerator, Venture Builder, Venture Client (Procurement from startups), CVC (Startup Investments), and M&A (Acquisitions).
2025 Judging Committee
In defining the final ranking we will be helped by a panel of judges composed of the following exceptional professionals
Serial Entrepreneur, President Emeritus EBAN, ICC Executive Board member
Serial Entrepreneur, Vice President ICC, Former CEO Groupe PSA
ICC Executive. Board Member
Serial Entrepreneur, Vice Chair WHO Foundation, ICC Executive Board Member
ICC Executive Board Member, President of ICC Germany
Founder at West Blue Consulting, Founder at e-Ananse
Chief Executive Director at Born2Global Centre
Industry Faculty, Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology, UC Berkeley
Serial Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist (Partner K FUND) and Corporate Innovation-Venturing Executive (former Global Entrepreneurship Director at Telefónica)
Head of Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre
Venture Partner at Merian Ventures, formerly GM for RocketSpace and British Consul General to San Francisco
Corporate innovation expert specialized in Dual Innovation and “Scaling-Up” book author
Former Microsoft President and COO, HP Vicepresident, Silicon Graphics CEO
General Partner at Viola Growth
Serial Entrepreneur, former Chairman of EuraTechnologies and CEO France Digitale
Professor IE Business School
Serial entrepreneur, University Professor, Mind the Bridge Chairman and coordinator of the Startup Europe Partnership
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