Joanna Rees

Joanna Rees (born November 14, 1961, in Montclair, New Jersey) is a veteran venture capitalist, brand strategist, and corporate board director based in San Francisco. She earned a B.S. in Psychology from Duke University and an MBA from Columbia Business School, where she graduated Beta Gamma Sigma. She began her career at Benton & Bowles, an advertising agency, before spending five years (1984-1989) in senior marketing management roles at Groupe Danone, a $20+ billion global consumer products company, ultimately heading its new product development division. She then spent more than two years in investment banking at Vrolyk & Co and BA Securities before pivoting fully to venture capital.

In 1996, Rees founded Venture Strategy Partners (VSP) and its affiliated fund VSP Capital in San Francisco. The firm raised $25 million in March 1999 and $190 million in March 2000, investing in early-stage companies that combined technical innovation with market development. Notable VSP-era investments included Danger Inc. (developer of the T-Mobile Sidekick), AllBusiness.com, eStyle, and Flooz.com. During her tenure as Managing Partner at VSP Capital (through 2011), Rees served on the boards of more than 25 private, venture-backed companies across a broad range of industries.

In 2016, Rees launched West (west.ventures), a venture studio that provides brand strategy, marketing expertise, and investment capital to purpose-driven, high-growth companies. She served as Managing Partner until November 2023, when she became Executive Chairman of West Global. Beyond investing, Rees ran as an independent candidate for Mayor of San Francisco in 2011, is a World Economic Forum Global Leader for Tomorrow, and is an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow. She also co-created the Build Brand Value CEO Forum and has been a contributor to HuffPost, Fast Company, and CSQ Magazine.

Rees invests at the intersection of brand creation, company scaling, and growth. West operates as both a venture studio — embedding with portfolio companies to design, build, and launch their brands — and a selective investment fund. Her investment thesis centers on purpose-driven companies where strong branding and market positioning are critical competitive advantages. She focuses primarily on Seed and Series A stages, with particular interest in social commerce, consumer health, consumer internet, and increasingly climate technology. She was instrumental in launching Endeavor Catalyst, an impact investment fund under the non-profit Endeavor Global (now with over $500 million under management), reflecting her commitment to high-impact entrepreneurship in emerging markets.

| Company | Category | Notes | |---------|----------|-------| | Twitter (now X) | Social Media | West client; brand and market strategy | | Square | Fintech | West client | | Impossible Foods | Consumer / FoodTech | West client; brand launch | | GoFundMe | Social Commerce | West client | | Newfront Insurance | InsurTech | West client | | Braintree | Fintech / Payments | West client | | Proxy | Identity / IoT | West client | | Inception Fertility (fka Prelude Fertility) | Consumer Health | West client; Rees served on board | | Danger Inc. | Hardware / Mobile | VSP Capital; developed T-Mobile Sidekick | | Trust Science | AI / Credit Scoring | Personal investment & Board of Advisors (Feb 2025) | | Endeavor Catalyst | Impact Fund | Led formation and capital raise |

• FICO (NYSE: FICO) — Independent Director since 2015; Chairs Leadership Development & Compensation Committee; serves on Nominating & Governance and Executive Committees
• California Workforce Development Board — Chair (since June 2025)
• Endeavor Global — Global Board of Directors; led Endeavor Catalyst formation
• The Representation Project — Board member
• Build.org — National Board
• National Venture Capital Association — Former Board member
• B Team — Senior Partner
• Trust Science — Board of Advisors (since February 2025)