Reema Shah
Investor and Advisor and Board Member in Atherton, California
Reema Shah has built a career defined by steady focus, disciplined analysis, and a sincere interest in supporting progress across both the financial and social sectors. Over the span of more than twenty-five years, she has contributed to investing, advising, education, and philanthropy, bringing consistency and purpose to each role she has taken on.
Her early experience in finance began at Stern Stewart & Co. in New York, where she evaluated companies across many industries using the EVA framework. The work gave her early exposure to corporate performance review and helped her form the analytical habits that would shape her future approach to investment decisions. She carried these skills into later roles at Morgan Stanley and Fayez Sarofim & Co., where she expanded her background in sector analysis, valuation, and engagement with leadership teams.
In 2000, after earning her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Reema joined Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette as an equity research analyst. Her responsibilities included conducting in-depth research and offering investment recommendations to institutional clients. This stage of her career deepened her understanding of public markets and reinforced the value of thorough preparation in guiding decisions.
Reema then transitioned into a leadership role at JWS Technology Funds, eventually serving as managing director and partner. She began as an analyst and later co-managed a multi-billion-dollar technology-focused mutual fund. She also invested in software and consumer companies through the firm’s hedge fund, which grew from $10 million to over $1 billion during her tenure. Her success in navigating complex, fast-moving markets earned her recognition as an investor with a strong ability to identify value in evolving environments. Even so, she increasingly felt drawn toward work that connected investment strategy with broader social purpose.
This interest led her to co-found Foundze, Inc., an online platform created to help parents and educators identify well-rated educational apps for children. The project marked a turning point in her growing focus on mission-oriented ventures. From 2014 to 2017, she served as an advisor at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, where she played a key role in the 2016 launch of the Social Impact Collective. The initiative helped professionals build strategies in philanthropy and impact investing, showing how learning and structure can support community-focused outcomes.