Lisha Bell, BCEMBA 12, who leads the Economic Opportunity Fund at PayPal Ventures, has been chosen as speaker at the Berkeley Haas MBA for Executives commencement, which will be held June 3.
Bell brings over 20 years of demonstrated technology innovation focused on digital money movement. Her career has focused on building and investing in products that serve community needs to bridge the capital divide.
At PayPal Ventures, she leads the Economic Opportunity Fund, the 100M investment into diverse emerging fund managers. Prior to Paypal, she worked at Venmo, Wells Fargo, Kohl’s, and Feedzai in various payment related roles, building the earliest digital financial products including online banking, bill pay, and digital wallets.
Bell is cofounder of BLXVC, an angel syndicate comprised of moms funding Black and Brown founders.
She is also the host of the Sisters with Ventures Podcast, which tells the stories of women in venture capital, and the prior deal flow lead for Pipeline Angels, a group of impact investors focused on women. Bell is also board chair for Black Girl Ventures.
She holds a BS in Business Administration and Information Systems from USC, and an MBA from the (former) joint program between UC Berkeley and Columbia Business School. She was recognized as USC’s Widney Outstanding Alumna and a 2013 Berkeley Columbia Distinguished Service Award recipient.