Vanessa Colella
Global Head of Innovation and Digital Partnerships at Visa
San Francisco, California
Overview
Work Experience
Global Head of Innovation and Digital Partnerships
2022 - Current
Leads the development and commercialization of Visa products and solutions for big tech, fintech, and platform partnerships, as well as Visa's global network of Innovation Centers.
Visa Research conducts applied research on the most challenging problems in the payment industry.
Board Member
2020
Supports La Scuola on its mission to “Inspire Brave Learners to Shape the Future” by leveraging the best of what is known globally about learning and child development across subjects.
La Scuola International School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs.
Member of the Corporation Visiting Committee
2015
Operate as an advisor providing advice and insight to the leadership of the Media Lab. Help the Lab to maintain a close relationship between academic and professional practice.
Board Member
2021 - 2022
Advised the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) to help empower the next generation of American companies that will fuel the economy of tomorrow.
National Venture Capital Association advocates for policies that promote long-term investment and encourage innovation.
Chief Innovation Officer, Head of Citi Ventures and Head of Citi Productivity
2020 - 2022
Expanded Chief Innovation Officer role to include Citi Productivity, which works to transform the employee experience by leveraging the power of process simplification, operating model redesign, and new technologies to help Citi increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Chief Innovation Officer & Head of Citi Ventures
2017 - 2020
Drive growth and innovation across Citi through deep integration with Citi's businesses, clients, and partners. Oversee a venture investing team and internal incubation teams (D10X and Studio), which use lean start-up methodology to generate ideas, launch products, and research trends that support economic growth. Foster a culture of innovation across Citi by creating space for employees to test ideas, challenge industry norms, and create new tools.
Managing Director, Global Head of Venture Investing and Strategic Growth Initiatives
2013 - 2017
Led the corporate venturing team in seeking, evaluating, investing in and working with start-ups to commercialize their technologies and drive growth for Citi. Led Citi's internal efforts to identify strategic growth opportunities and incubate potential solutions to new and emerging customer needs.
Managing Director, Head of NA Marketing
2010 - 2013
Led branding and advertising, online acquisitions, digital partnerships, branded content and engagement, and customer communications for the bank. Responsible for marketing activity across the retail bank, credit cards, small and medium business, commercial, mortgage and the payments businesses.
Citigroup is a financial services holding company that provides various financial products and services.
Raised $12,950,000,000.00 from ValueAct Capital and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Entrepreneur in Residence
2009 - 2010
Responsible for sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities and advising CEOs in media, technology, and financial services companies.
SVP Insights
2008 - 2009
Responsible for developing and executing the company's consumer data and research strategy globally. While at Yahoo!, also led B2B marketing and strategy for the U.S., focusing on communicating the unique value of Yahoo!’s solutions to the advertising and publishing communities.
Yahoo is a technology and media company that serves users through its portfolio of digital platforms, products, and services.
Raised $6,800,000.00 from Visa, SoftBank Capital, Sequoia Capital and Reuters Venture Capital.
Partner
2001 - 2008
Led strategy development, innovation, and organizational change for media and technology companies.
McKinsey Growth Tech serves leading growth stage tech players, venture capital, and growth private equity
Biology Teacher
1991 - 1995
Taught junior high and high school Biology, Chemistry, and IB Biology
Science Teacher
1990 - 1991
Taught junior high school Life Science and Earth Science as charter corps member of Teach for America