Full Name
K. Shelly Porges
Job Title
Cofounder and Managing Partner
Company
Beyond the Billion
Bio
K. Shelly Porges is cofounder and managing partner of Beyond the Billion (launched as the Billion Dollar Fund for Women), a global consortium of venture funds pledged to invest in female-founded firms. In 2021, she was honored as one of the inaugural Forbes 50 Over 50 in Investment. She is also a board member of the Financial Alliance for Women and on the Advisory Board for Mindshift Capital, Different Funds, and Global Invest Her.
Porges is a globally recognized expert on gender-lens venture investing and a leader in fostering global entrepreneurship. She served as president of the North American Jury for Cartier Women’s Initiative for more than a decade and as the former senior adviser of the Global Entrepreneurship Program at the U.S. State Department, a program she expanded to almost 150 countries, under Secretary Hillary Clinton. Prior to that, she had a distinguished career in the private sector, including both corporate and entrepreneurial ventures. She served as executive head of marketing for American Express Canada and as chief marketing officer for Bank of America during a historic turn-around. Porges has also founded or cofounded six previous ventures including Porges/Hudson Marketing; Scudder Weisel Capital, a joint venture between Thomas Weisel Partners and Zurich Scudder Investments; and Global Payments Experts. As the former president of the Financial Alliance for Women in San Francisco, she launched the Financial Woman of the Year event, which has raised more than $3 million for women’s scholarships.
Porges is a compelling speaker who has inspired audiences globally at Politico’s Women Rule Summit (D.C.), the Women’s Alternative Investment Summit (NY), the Financial Alliance for Women Annual Summit (Paris), GenderSmart Investing Summit (London), High Water Women Investing for Impact Symposium (NY), the World Bank THK Blended Finance Forum (Bali), Web Summit (Lisbon), Inspirefest (Dublin), Women Up/McKinsey (Stockholm), the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (Istanbul, Dubai, and Kuala Lumpur), Disrupt Conference (Athens), the Women's Forum (Deauville), WEConnect International (London), UnConference (Israel), and at universities such as American, Babson, Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, George Washington, Harvard, and more.
Porges holds both a BS with honors and an MPS degree from Cornell University.
Porges is a globally recognized expert on gender-lens venture investing and a leader in fostering global entrepreneurship. She served as president of the North American Jury for Cartier Women’s Initiative for more than a decade and as the former senior adviser of the Global Entrepreneurship Program at the U.S. State Department, a program she expanded to almost 150 countries, under Secretary Hillary Clinton. Prior to that, she had a distinguished career in the private sector, including both corporate and entrepreneurial ventures. She served as executive head of marketing for American Express Canada and as chief marketing officer for Bank of America during a historic turn-around. Porges has also founded or cofounded six previous ventures including Porges/Hudson Marketing; Scudder Weisel Capital, a joint venture between Thomas Weisel Partners and Zurich Scudder Investments; and Global Payments Experts. As the former president of the Financial Alliance for Women in San Francisco, she launched the Financial Woman of the Year event, which has raised more than $3 million for women’s scholarships.
Porges is a compelling speaker who has inspired audiences globally at Politico’s Women Rule Summit (D.C.), the Women’s Alternative Investment Summit (NY), the Financial Alliance for Women Annual Summit (Paris), GenderSmart Investing Summit (London), High Water Women Investing for Impact Symposium (NY), the World Bank THK Blended Finance Forum (Bali), Web Summit (Lisbon), Inspirefest (Dublin), Women Up/McKinsey (Stockholm), the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (Istanbul, Dubai, and Kuala Lumpur), Disrupt Conference (Athens), the Women's Forum (Deauville), WEConnect International (London), UnConference (Israel), and at universities such as American, Babson, Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, George Washington, Harvard, and more.
Porges holds both a BS with honors and an MPS degree from Cornell University.
Speaking At
