Daily Life of IBM’s Head of VC: Miles With Her Dogs and Meeting Startups

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 38-year-old Emily Fontaine, the global head of venture capital at IBM. She leads IBM Ventures and oversees the company’s $500 million Enterprise AI Venture Fund. Fontaine is based in Washington, DC, and New York City and has worked at IBM for nearly 15 years in a variety of roles. It’s been edited for length and clarity.

I spent a year teaching history and politics at a prep school in Connecticut before starting at IBM, and my nearly 15-year journey here has put me in several mission-critical roles, like working as the AI federal leader for IBM Consulting and in the office of the chairman and CEO.

Now, as the global head of venture capital, no two days are the same, especially since I spend a lot of my time traveling between Washington, DC, and New York City, or around the world.

I’m up at dawn and out for a long walk

There’s no need for an alarm clock in my home. My two doodles, Dottie and Winnie, wake me at dawn every day, and one of them even stomps her feet to get my attention.

I always start by looking through emails and Slack for 30 to 60 minutes just to make sure I haven’t missed anything urgent, and then scanning my calendar. I make a little time to listen to podcasts — I like daily episodes from The Economist and The Wall Street Journal, and I feel like I have to listen to political shows since I live in DC to understand headlines and the market.

BI’s Power Hours series gives readers an inside look at how powerful leaders in business structure their workday. See more stories from the series here, or reach out to editor Lauryn Haas to share your daily routine.

Then, it’s off on a long walk with the dogs and my husband, assuming I’m at home. I’m a big water drinker, so I always bring a bottle with me. It takes a lot to throw off my day, but if the dogs aren’t happy, nobody in the Fontaine household is.

By the time I’m back home around 7:30, I shift into work mode. I’ll make a cup of herbal tea (no caffeine for me!) and start to get ready, usually while listening to CNBC. I plan my outfits over the weekend so I don’t need to think about it in the morning.

When I’m in New York, I’ll get to IBM’s office on Madison Avenue by 8:30 am at the latest

I try to come in person as much as possible. Breakfast is a must for me, and I usually grab a smoothie or anything egg-sandwich-related on my way in.

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I’m a vegetarian, so I’ve got to get that protein somehow. In the morning, I meet with my leadership team and do my deep work, like reviewing investments and the state of deals.

I always meet with at least one VC firm, startup, or portfolio company, and I’m hoping to engage with 800 startups this year. There are a lot of high-stakes moments, but a little nervous energy reminds me that the moment matters. A chunk of my day is spent working with my team leads, often while walking around the loop at our office.

I keep meetings at 20 minutes, and I try not to block them back-to-back. Since my calendar stays pretty packed, unplanned issues that need immediate attention can throw an entire day off, but I try to view those situations as opportunities to reprioritize.

My energy comes from being with other people, so a lot of tedious laptop work can be challenging. To deal with the inevitable screen time, I’m constantly going over to people’s desks, usually with a glass of water, and asking how I can help.

I’m a big desk decorator — there’s the calendar I made for myself and my husband, family pictures, and tons of books (including some on AI and quantum). My team always gives me a hard time about this, but I’ve hung all of my badges from speaking engagements. I also recently put up a poster from our CEO summit that all of our founders signed.

Usually, I pack my lunch, and I try to block at least 30 minutes to eat and practice sign language, which my husband and I recently started learning.

I try to leave the office by 6:30 pm

The first thing I do when I get home is greet my furry monsters and take them out. It’s rare that I don’t hit 10 miles of walking a day. My brother lives near Central Park and our dogs are litter-mates, so he, my husband, and I spend a lot of time together there. My mom is moving in with us soon, so I’ll sometimes force her to come on the evening walk.

My husband and family are non-negotiable, and my nights are about them. My husband cooks — I haven’t cooked for a long time, and the last time I tried to, we ended up ordering pizza. I’m thankful that I don’t have to think about what to make for dinner, and he’s an amazing chef.

One go-to is homemade gnocchi with a creamy pesto. We’ll share details of our days as he cooks, though it’s usually me talking at him more than the other way around. It’s also rare that I don’t connect with my best friends each day.

I’m a huge believer in being an accessible leader, so I respond to messages as they come in, even if it’s pretty late. When we sit down to dinner, though, I try to put my phone away.

After dinner, we unwind with a book or TV show

If it’s basketball season, I watch my beloved Celtics. I love a romance novel, and my husband and I recently started re-watching “Crash Landing on You,” a Korean romantic comedy and drama. It’s the best show on Netflix.

I’ll spend 30 minutes making sure nothing came in when I was relaxing and checking my calendar for the next day. I’ve usually saved a couple of interesting articles, too, so I’ll read those.

My bedtime is around 10, or as early as possible. Lots of sleep and water are my secret weapons.

I make the most of travel time

I also spend a good amount of time traveling, especially to and from DC. I fly between the two cities, partly because my home in Georgetown is so close to the airport. I love the short plane ride and make the most of it.

I’m a little bit old school, so sometimes the team will print out reports they want me to review, or I’ll catch up on emails.

I have one ritual to round out the week, even if it means my Fridays get late: I clear my inbox. People took the time to reach out to me, and I want to be responsive.