Valla Vakili

Managing Director and Global Head, Venture Innovation at Citi

I help companies innovate and grow. Combining creative vision with business acumen, I enable organizations to pursue new directions and profit from changes in customer behavior driven by digital technologies and business models. As Global Head of Venture Innovation at Citi, I lead diverse teams that have developed award-winning new products and services to meet the evolving needs of people, companies, and governments. Since 2015, I have helped Citi anticipate and adapt to change by co-founding the company’s startup accelerator and by building new practices in blockchain and digital assets, human capital and economic growth, public-private economic development, technology and racial equity, and next-gen talent. This hands-on experience has given me a deeper understanding of the growth opportunities emerging for building inclusive, high-skill, digital 21st century economies. Prior to that, I spent 15 years in digital media, publishing, and music, helping some of the world’s largest brands adapt their products and business models to meet the needs of digital-first customers. I began my career at Yahoo, creating growth revenue products for the company’s global strategic partners and Fortune 500 advertisers, and leading product innovation for the media group. I then founded Small Demons–a company that partnered with the world’s largest commercial publishers to give readers a new way to explore and consume digital content across all media. I was later recruited to iHeartMedia to provide product leadership for the company’s industry-leading mobile music service. I am a graduate of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and conducted doctoral research in the language and symbolism of political revolutions at Oxford University. Working across industries and disciplines, I have learned how to recognize meaningful change and create strategies and products that take advantage of it. I enjoy building mission-driven digital teams to tackle some of the most complex challenges organizations face with optimism, creativity, and confidence.