Joelle Kayden

Joelle Kayden is the founder and Managing Partner of Accolade Partners, a venture capital and growth equity fund of funds firm.12 She founded Accolade Partners in 2000 after a successful career in investment banking.12

Career Background

Before starting Accolade Partners, Joelle had a notable career in finance:

• She joined Alex. Brown & Sons in 1982, where she served as the first CFO of ABS Ventures, the firm's venture capital affiliate.2
• Later, she moved to the Investment Banking Division at Alex. Brown, becoming a Managing Director.2
• At Alex. Brown, she managed the Venture Capital Service Group and served on the firm's Equity Capital Markets and Investment committees.2
• Prior to Alex. Brown, she briefly worked at Goldman Sachs for one year.1

Education

Joelle holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) and a B.A. from Smith College.2

Accolade Partners

Under Joelle's leadership, Accolade Partners has become a top-performing venture capital and private equity growth fund of funds:

• The firm manages approximately $5.8 billion across various strategies.3
• Accolade focuses primarily on U.S. fund managers in the technology and healthcare spaces.3
• The firm has been recognized for its performance, ranking as one of the top two fund of funds globally in the past fifteen years according to the HEC-Dow Jones Performance Ranking.3

Board Positions and Philanthropy

Joelle serves on the Board of Trustees of Rockefeller University and the Yellowstone Community Foundation.2

Recent Developments

In 2023, Accolade Partners closed three new investment vehicles under Joelle's management:

• Accolade Partners IX, L.P.: A combined venture capital and PE growth fund of funds ($505 million).3
• Accolade Partners Growth III, L.P.: Focused solely on PE growth ($400 million).3
• Accolade Partners Venture I, L.P.: The firm's first fund of funds focused solely on venture capital ($131 million).3

Joelle Kayden's leadership and vision have been instrumental in establishing Accolade Partners as a respected and successful player in the venture capital and private equity fund of funds space.