Joanna Rees

Joanna Rees stands at the intersection of brand innovation, venture capital, and corporate governance. Her career spans leadership roles as an operating executive, venture capital investor, entrepreneur, strategic advisor, and board member. She currently serves on the board of FICO, Inception Fertility, and Illumyn, bringing transformative insights to public and private company boards. At FICO, she Chairs Leadership Development and Compensation and additionally serves on Nominating & Governance and the Executive Committee. FICO has achieved a top ten total shareholder return on the S&P 500 during her tenure on the board. Joanna brings deep expertise in scaling high-potential companies and navigating complex market dynamics.

Joanna is Chairman of West Global, a premier brand and strategy firm. She has guided the strategic evolution of industry-defining companies including Twitter (now X), Square, Ro, NewFront and Impossible Foods. Her unique perspective stems from a multifaceted career spanning brand management and venture capital. She started her career at Benton & Bowles followed by leading multiple brands at Danone. She founded VSP Capital after working in investment banking at BA Securities and Vrolyk & Co. Her strategic vision and tenacious execution were instrumental in launching Endeavor Catalyst, a groundbreaking impact investment fund, as part of the non-profit Endeavor Global. Endeavor Catalyst has over $500 million under management and is the top performing venture fund globally.