New Era of AEC Tech: Honor Celebrates Venture Capital Excellence

Cutler Knupp, Haskell Director of Strategy and Technology Investment and Executive Director of Dysruptek, Haskell's innovation and venture arm, has been named one of 50 Emerging Leaders by Global Corporate Venturing (GCV).

GCV provides the global corporate venturing community with the information, insights and access needed to drive impactful open innovation. Each year, it names 50 Rising Stars, those with notable success in their first five years in the industry, and 50 Emerging Leaders, those with more than five years of experience who lead, redefine and inspire.

Together, the two cohorts represent the top 0.5% of individuals in this corporate venturing profession.  

Knupp joined Haskell in 2018 when it launched Dysruptek to drive a strategic pillar of optimizing intellectual capital, technology and innovation, disrupting and benefitting the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Guiding the parent company’s investment in series A startups in architecture, engineering and construction technologies, Dysruptek has 10 \companies in its portfolio.

Largely because of its guidance, Haskell currently ranks No. 1 in global insurance carrier AXA XL’s Technology Adoption Maturity Index (TAMI), a proprietary benchmarking service to help contractors measure their tech adoption against an industry index and their peers.

“I still feel like we're just getting started, but we have come a long way,” Knupp said. “Looking at the breadth of emerging technologies is a huge highlight and seeing the impact this has been able to have in driving the business is great to see. When it comes to digital transformation, it has been rewarding seeing and realizing these opportunities.”

In addition to scouting, engaging and investing in groundbreaking technologies that benefit the AEC industry, Dysruptek optimizes Haskell’s vast intellectual capital. Its fourth annual Big Pitch, a Shark Tank-styled competition, was held before a record in-person and virtual audience of more than 300 as the five groups that emerged from a record field of 45 entries presented their plans to disrupt the construction industry.

A previous Big Pitch winner, a pneumatic testing device called RAPTOR, which stands for Remotely Activated Pressure Testing, Observation & Recording. Garnered Dysruptek’s first patent and stands to revolutionize the industry standard by mitigating risks and improving productivity.

“It's a mindset now,” he said. “There's been a tangible impact. Our people are thinking differently. We're seeing now that folks across the organization at all levels are embracing new means and methods to improve their work product. We are seeing this take place at a rate we have not seen before, and it is a very exciting time here at Haskell.”

Knupp is a frequent speaker and panelist at events in the construction and venture industries. In June, he will join Josh Levy, a former in-house counsel at an ENR top 20 contractor and now CEO of Haskell strategic partner Document Crunch, to address how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing risk mitigation.

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