Joanna Karas

Joanna Karas has extensive experience as an executive assistant and business administrator. Joanna'smost recent position was as an Executive Assistant to the Chief Legal Officer at Lyell Immunopharma, starting in April 2022. Prior to that, they worked as an Executive Business Administrator to the CEO and Founder at Magnify, a company that uses AI and Machine Learning for enterprise software, from November 2021 to April 2022.

Joanna also served as an Executive Assistant to the CEO and Executive Chairman at Cost Plus World Market, a specialty/import retail chain, from November 2020 to July 2021. Joanna provided complex administrative support to senior leaders and the newly established Board of Directors at Kingswood Capital Management.

From 2016 to 2020, Joanna worked as an Executive Assistant to the CEO, CTO, and Co-Founder at Chef Software, a global software start-up. Joanna played a crucial role in forging partnerships with the executive team, board of directors, and external partners & vendors. The company was successfully sold to Progress Software in October 2020.

Earlier in their career, Joanna served as an Executive Assistant to the CEO and CFO at Sur La Table, a high-end kitchen retailer, from September 2013 to August 2016. Joanna later took on the role of Executive Assistant to the EVP of Sales at the same company from November 2011 to September 2013.

Joanna also worked as an Executive Assistant to the CEO and Office Manager at Tippr, a group buying start-up, from January 2010 to November 2011. Joanna was responsible for administrative operations, facilities management, and board of directors logistics.

Before their corporate career, Joanna worked as a freelance English teacher and translator in Northern Italy from 2008 to 2011. Joanna taught English grammar and conversational courses, developed online English courses, and provided translation services for an Italian tour and media company.

Joanna's earlier experiences include serving as an Executive Assistant to the CEO and CFO at Imperium Renewables, a biodiesel start-up, from 2006 to 2008. Joanna also had a contract position as a Channel Marketing Manager at Microsoft for the Office and Windows categories in 2006.

In addition, Joanna worked as an Area Administrator to the President and Chairman of the Board at 1024 Partners, a venture capital start-up, from 2005 to 2006. Joanna provided administrative support to executives and handled project management and customer support responsibilities for multiple portfolio start-up companies.

Overall, Joanna Karas has a diverse background in executive support roles across various industries and has demonstrated strong organizational and administrative skills throughout their career.

Joanna Karas has pursued their education in a diverse range of fields. Joanna attended the Euro Institute of Skincare, where they specialized in Aesthetics and developed expertise in skincare. Additionally, Joanna studied Italian Language at the Istituto di Venezia, focusing on Italian Level 3. Furthermore, they attended the University of Washington, where they completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications.