About

Reima Shakeir is a strategist, author, and organizational repatterner who helps leaders make the unseen visible. She works at the intersection of science and intuition, drawing on systems thinking, organizational constellations, and rigorous research to reveal the dynamics that quietly shape teams, organizations, and markets. Her work enables leaders to recognize hidden patterns, navigate uncertainty, and act with clarity and imagination.

About

Reima Shakeir is a strategist, author, and organizational repatterner who helps leaders make the unseen visible. She works at the intersection of science and intuition, drawing on systems thinking, organizational constellations, and rigorous research to reveal the dynamics that quietly shape teams, organizations, and markets. Her work enables leaders to recognize hidden patterns, navigate uncertainty, and act with clarity and imagination.

Early Entrepreneurial Journey

A pioneering entrepreneur since the age of 17, Reima founded a multilingual publishing house that grew into a leadership-development consultancy before she scaled and sold the business at 22. This early experience taught her how quickly ideas can become systems—and how those systems, if left unexamined, can limit growth. Since then, she has partnered with organizations across industries and geographies to realign structures, resolve bottlenecks, and open new pathways for innovation.

Academic and Professional Roles

Alongside her consulting practice, Reima has mentored NSF I-Corps teams, start-up founders, served as Course Lead for MBA Communication courses at Wharton, and is currently Clinical Professor at NYU Stern. Her research explores business intuition and ambivalence, offering leaders tools to trust their inner knowing while staying grounded in evidence. As a published author, she continues to bridge scholarship and practice, always asking how complex ideas can become accessible and actionable for decision-makers.

Her Approach

Reima’s approach is both rigorous and human. She combines analysis with attentiveness to subtle dynamics—what leaders often sense but cannot yet articulate. By making these forces visible, she supports organizations to repattern themselves for resilience and growth. The result is more than problem-solving: it’s transformation, where people and systems begin to move in new, life-affirming directions.

The Interdisciplinary Approach

Bio

Reima Shakeir is a strategist, author, and organizational repatterner who makes hidden dynamics in complex systems visible. A pioneering entrepreneur since age 17, she built and sold her first company by 21, then went on to become a c-suite executive, mentor NSF I-Corps teams and start-up founders, lead courses at Wharton, and now serves as Clinical Professor at NYU Stern. Today, as a partner at OQ Strategies, she combines rigorous research with practical insight to help leaders navigate uncertainty and unlock new pathways for growth.

My approach

I work at the intersection of complexity and intuition. My practice combines systems science with systemic constellations to reveal the hidden patterns that quietly shape decisions and outcomes. I draw on both rigorous research and lived experience, but also on something less tangible—the subtle signals that leaders often sense but can’t yet name.

By bringing these dynamics into view, I help organizations and leaders act with clarity, courage, imagination and. articulate that clearly. My goal is not just to solve problems, but to create the conditions where leaders can navigate uncertainty with confidence and unlock new possibilities for growth.

The Interdisciplinary Approach

Bio
Reima Shakeir is a strategist, author, and organizational repatterner who makes hidden dynamics in complex systems visible. A pioneering entrepreneur since age 17, she built and sold her first company by 22, then went on to become a c-suite executive, mentor NSF I-Corps teams and start-up founders, lead courses at Wharton, and now serves as Clinical Professor at NYU Stern. Today, as a partner at OQ Strategies, she combines rigorous research with practical insight to help leaders navigate uncertainty and unlock new pathways for growth.

My approach

I work at the intersection of complexity and intuition. My practice combines systems science with organizational constellations to reveal the hidden patterns that quietly shape decisions and outcomes. I draw on both rigorous research and lived experience, but also on something less tangible—the subtle signals that leaders often sense but can’t yet name.

By bringing these dynamics into view, I help leaders act with clarity, courage, and imagination. My goal is not just to solve problems, but to create the conditions where leaders can navigate uncertainty with confidence and unlock new possibilities for growth.

Credentials

International Scholar | Published Author | Nonprofit Executive | Educator

  • Clinical Assistant Professor, NYU Stern School of Business

  • Associate Director, The Wharton Communication Program

  • Ceo, Women in Innovation

  • Chief Operating Officer, Edmond de Rothschild Foundations

  • Lecturer, Research Methodologies, CLO Executive Doctorate Program, University of Pennsylvania

  • Lecturer, Wharton School

Education:

  • Ed.D., Higher Education and Management, University of Pennsylvania (with double distinction)

  • A.L.M., English, Harvard University Extension School (Dean’s Academic Achievement Award, Derek Bok Public Service Award)

  • B.A., English and Comparative Literature, Ain Shams University

Fellowships & Executive Education:

  • Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship — Executive education at University of Cambridge (UK), ESSEC Business School (France), Cornell University

Selected Publications :

  • Shakeir,R., Khaduthodil, J. Arab American Women: Identity and Intersectionality. Bloomsbury Press.

  • Andrews, C., & Shakeir, R. (2023)
    “Conceptualizing Passion as an Entrepreneurial Pathway.” The Palgrave Handbook of Fulfillment, Wellness, and Personal Growth at Work,Palgrave Macmillan.

  • Shakeir, R., Odendaal, R. T., & Rosado-Viurques, A. T. (2021). Decolonizing Educational Mindsets. In Critical Leadership Praxis: Educational & Social Change. TCP Publishing.

  • Shakeir, R., & Ravitch, S. M. (2020). On Writing Critical, Post-Colonial, Asset-Based Case Studies on Frontier Philanthropies of the Global South. Sage MethodSpace.

  • Shakeir, R., Ravitch, S. M., & Rahman, G. R. (2020). Frontier Philanthropies of the Global South: Case Studies to Move Practice and Policy. University of Pennsylvania.

  • Shakeir, R. (2019). An Um Kulthumist Lens: Arab American Women and the Lived Experience of Higher Education and the Public Space (Dissertation).

Selected Publications in Peer Reviewed Journals:

  • Wall-Andrews, C., Shakeir, R., & Hanssen, B. (2025). Racialized Leadership and Organizational Financial Performance in the Arts. International Journal of Arts Management, 27(2), 31-50

Credentials

International Scholar | Published Author | Nonprofit Executive | Educator

Clinical Assistant Faculty, NYU Stern School of Business

Associate Director, The Wharton Communication Program, University of Pennsylvania

CEO, Women In Innovation

COO, Edmond de Rothschild Foundations

Lecturer, Research Methodologies, CLO Executive Doctorate Program, University of Pennsylvania

Lecturer, Wharton School

Education

Ed.D., Higher Education and Management, University of Pennsylvania (with double distinction)

A.L.M., English, Harvard University Extension School (Dean’s Academic Achievement Award, Derek Bok Public Service Award)

B.A., English and Comparative Literature, Ain Shams University

Fellowships & Executive Education

Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship — Executive education at University of Cambridge (UK), ESSEC Business School (France), Cornell University

Selected Publications

Shakeir, R. & Khaduthodil.J. Arab American Women: Identity and Intersectionality. Bloomsbury Press.

Wall-Andrews, C., & Shakeir, R. (2023). Conceptualizing Passion as an Entrepreneurial Pathway. In The Palgrave Handbook of Fulfillment, Wellness, and Personal Growth at Work (pp. 497-521). Cham: Springer International Publishing.


Shakeir, R., Odendaal, R. T., & Rosado-Viurques, A. T. (2021). Decolonizing Educational Mindsets. In Critical Leadership Praxis: Educational & Social Change. TCP Publishing.

Shakeir, R., & Ravitch, S. M. (2020). On Writing Critical, Post-Colonial, Asset-Based Case Studies on Frontier Philanthropies of the Global South. Sage MethodSpace.

Shakeir, R., Ravitch, S. M., & Rahman, G. R. (2020). Frontier Philanthropies of the Global South: Case Studies to Move Practice and Policy. University of Pennsylvania.

Shakeir, R. (2019). An Um Kulthumist Lens: Arab American Women and the Lived Experience of Higher Education and the Public Space (Dissertation).

Selected Publications in Peer Reviewed Journals

Wall-Andrews, C., Shakeir, R., & Hanssen, B. (2025). Racialized Leadership and Organizational Financial Performance in the Arts. International Journal of Arts Management, 27(2), 31-50

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