.406 Ventures

Joanna Skoler Gilman


Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

Joanna has spent her career figuring out what makes a wide variety of companies and organizations tick and driving them forward through marketing and communications. She has worked across industries including the arts, financial services, education, and consumer products among others.

She joined .406 in September of 2022 and is excited to tell the story of the firm and its investment in companies started by amazing entrepreneurs who are solving complex problems. She leads efforts related to marketing the firm; supporting portfolio companies; communications with investors; and building community engagement among Student Fellows, EIRs, and Executive Councils.

Prior to coming to .406, she was the CMO at her alma mater, Thayer Academy in Braintree, MA, where she built the marketing and communications function at the independent 5-12 school and was a member of the Senior Leadership team. Before her work at Thayer, for more than 10 years, Joanna worked as an independent marketing consultant for companies ranging from small startups to major corporations, with a focus on digital marketing and innovation. Her clients included Gillette, Procter & Gamble, P.F. Chang’s, Fidelity, and the Harvard Innovation Lab. Prior to starting her consulting practice, Joanna was the Senior Vice President for North American Marketing at Sotheby’s in New York and was a member of the leadership team that developed and launched Sotheby's online auction sites, including joint ventures with Amazon and eBay. She started her post-MBA career working in brand management at Unilever in New York.

Joanna received her B.A. magna cum laude in Fine Arts from Harvard and her MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. She lives in Milton, Massachusetts with her husband, two sons, and best boy, their dog Alfie.

Meet More of the .406 Team

  • How I want entrepreneurs to perceive the .406 team

    Like them. Smart. Passionate. Curious. Helpful.

  • After work I’ll be

    In the car listening to the news, a podcast, music, a book, or catching up with a friend

  • Worst fear

    In truth, declining cognition in old age

  • Favorite book

    The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

  • Something I say all the time

    Let’s go!

  • Favorite movie

    Tie between “Cinema Paradiso” and “Clueless”

  • Best part of the day

    5pm on a beach

  • Favorite wheels

    My first car, a used red Saab

  • Hidden talent

    I can do a lot of push-ups.

  • I can’t live without

    My Nespresso machine

  • I can’t stop eating

    No, I can’t.

  • Most important lesson learned

    Carpe diem

  • Peak of my athletic career

    My high school track season (before having surgery for scoliosis)

  • Who would play you in your life movie

    I’d love it to be Molly Ringwald (what redhead who grew up in the 80s wouldn’t?) or Jennifer Aniston.

  • Still on your bucket list

    Travel to India. Visit the Grand Canyon.

  • Your nickname(s)

    So many: Jo, JoJo, JoSko, Mojo, Josie, JoBaby, JB, Josephine, Spunky, Sissy, Sista, Mom. The list goes on.

  • Favorite food combo

    Sweet and salty

  • If I could go back in time

    I would go to Europe in the mid 1940s to observe my father’s experience in WWII as a POW.