Mark Klopp

Venture Partner

Mark’s primary role in Swan Ventures is to help secure slots in top-tier venture funds. Mark has over 20 years of operating experience in sales, marketing, international business, and corporate venture capital. He currently is a consultant for The Bell-Mason Group, which advises corporations on venturing. Mark, in his previous position as Managing Director of Eastman Ventures, Eastman Chemical Company’s corporate venture capital arm, started up and oversaw the company’s efforts to invest in, and partner with, private companies that brought to Eastman early access to emerging technology and growth options. He and his team forged relationships and co-investments with premier venture capitalists and corporations. Eastman has invested with a top-quartile IRR track record in 25 ventures and 5 venture funds in areas spanning information technology, life sciences, advanced materials, energy, and environmental technologies. Mark is a former Board Member of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and is past Chairman and current member of the Executive Committee of the Advisory Board for the Corporate Venture Group. He has been an active investor in medical technology companies and is a co-founder of Uptake Medical, a medical device company treating emphysema.

Prior to leading Eastman Ventures, Mark was the Assistant to Eastman’s CEO and Chairman. He previously headed up the Coatings and Industrial Chemical businesses for Eastman in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, where he was located in The Hague, The Netherlands. Mark earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech and an MBA in Management from Roosevelt University.