Joanna Rees (born November 14, 1961, in Montclair, New Jersey) is a venture capitalist who founded Venture Strategy Partners and VSP Capital in San Francisco, California. She also made an unsuccessful run for Mayor of San Francisco in the November 2011 election.[1]
Joanna Rees | |
|---|---|
 Joanna Rees at the Moët Hennessy Financial Times Club Dinner, San Francisco, in September 2011 | |
| Born | November 14, 1961 Montclair, New Jersey |
| Occupation | Venture Capitalist |
| Employer | VSP Capital |
| Spouse | John Hamm |
| Website | joannarees |
Early life
editRees was born in Montclair, New Jersey, in 1961,[2] the second of four children[3] of Joan Rees (née Pernetti) and John Rees.[4] Rees graduated from Montclair High School[citation needed] where she participated in competitive gymnastics.[3] She then attended Duke University where she also competed as a gymnast.[5] She graduated with a bachelor's in Psychology. She earned her MBA at the Columbia Business School.[3]
Career
editAfter moving to New York, Rees began working for the Paris, France-based food company Groupe Danone,[6] leaving in 1989 to attend business school at Columbia University. After graduating from Columbia, she took over a family-owned hotel business which brought her back to her hometown of Montclair.[3][7] After rehabilitating and selling that business, she moved to San Francisco, California, and opened Eric Restaurant in San Francisco with her now former husband, Eric Gallanter.[3]
Rees spent more than two years in investment banking with Vrolyk & Co and BA Securities. In 1996, Rees formed Venture Strategy Partners (VSP). The firm received an injection of $25 million in March 1999, followed by $190 million in March 2000.[6] The San Francisco-based venture capital firm also assists technology start-ups in establishing their brand marketing strategy.[8] As of 2000, the firm was funding companies like AllBusiness.com, eStyle, and Flooz.com.[9] VSP also backed Danger Inc., the company that developed the Sidekick. It was Rees that gave the phone to celebrities as a marketing strategy.[3]
Rees is Chairman of the USA Advisory Board for Fon[10] and also serves on the boards of NewSchools Venture Fund,[11] the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship's Bay Area Board, and Duke University's Annual Fund board.[12] She previously held a 4-year term with the National Venture Capital Association. Rees is also a Lecturer of Management at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.[13]
Rees, along with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and fellow Silicon Valley venture capitalists John Doerr and Bill Gurley recently hosted screenings of the new educational documentary "Waiting for Superman".[14]
Rees currently serves on the Board of Directors of Endeavor, an international non-profit development organization that finds and supports high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
In March 2010, Rees began making plans to run for Mayor of San Francisco in the November 2011 elections.[3] She filed campaign papers announcing her intent on September 1, 2010. Her candidacy was endorsed by Jennifer Siebel-Newsom, the wife of Gavin Newsom, the former mayor and current Lieutenant Governor of California.[15] Rees refused to use her own money in the campaign and ran as an independent.[1] She was previously registered as “decline to state”. Her campaign was led by SCN Strategies, the same firm running Newsom’s bid for Lieutenant Governor.[16] Rees lost the election which ended with the election of Ed Lee as mayor from a field of sixteen candidates.[17][18]
Rees is currently managing partner of West, a venture studio which works with purpose-driven companies to find and reach their ideal markets. West also raised a fund and selectively invests in emerging companies.
References
edit- ^ a b Stevens, Elizabeth Lesly (2011-05-07). "Running for Mayor, but With Her Money Not in Play". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2018-07-23. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ Sankin, Aaron (2011-10-11). "Candidate Questionnaire: Joanna Rees". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2020-01-26. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ a b c d e f g Knight, Heather (2010-03-07). "Entrepreneur eyes San Francisco mayor's race". SF Gate. Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ Hafner, Katie (2014-11-03). "A Tiny Stumble, a Life Upended". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ Eskenazi, Joe (2012-10-17). "Joanna Rees: S.F. Coulda Had a Mayor Who Does Splits, Jumps in Pools". SF Weekly. Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ a b Kroll, Luisa (2000-10-02). "Alley Cat". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ Warshaw, Mike (1998-05-31). "My So-Called Life – Joanna Rees Gallanter". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ Almer, Ellen (2000-10-04). "What Women Need to Know About Starting Up". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ Burton, Jonathan (2000-12-18). "Joanna Rees Gallanter; With Dot-Coms No Longer Soaring, Financial Backers Get Back to Basics". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ "Fon". Fon: The global WiFi network. Archived from the original on December 25, 2010.
- ^ "Joanna Rees' profile at NewSchools Venture Fund". Archived from the original on November 23, 2010.
- ^ "Joanna Rees' Endeavor Profile". Archived from the original on 2010-09-07. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
- ^ "Faculty and Staff - Leavey School of Business - SCU". www.scu.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
- ^ "Why Our Schools Suck, The Movie". 21 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2022-08-25. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
- ^ Wilkey, Robin (2011-09-08). "Jennifer Siebel-Newsom Endorses Joanna Rees For San Francisco Mayor". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-06-28. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ Matier & Ross (2010-09-01). "Mayoral launch". SF Gate. Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ "Official Ranked-Choice Results Report". San Francisco Department of Elections. 2011-11-08. Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ Coté, John (2011-11-09). "Ed Lee takes large early lead in mayor's race". SF Gate. Archived from the original on 2017-09-25. Retrieved 2017-09-26.