Kareem is the founder and CEO of 4RL – a tech startup that’s attacking the issue of loneliness by redefining how we use technology to enable connections in real life. He also manages Merchant Go-To-Market operations at DoorDash HQ, and is an executive MBA candidate at the NYU Stern School of Business. Kareem brings nearly a decade of experience in Strategy & Operations from Defense to Big Four Consulting and Tech. 

Kareem graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Marines after completing the Officer Candidate Course. He served a tour as a Logistics Officer and earned the honor of commanding one of the Marine Corps’ three Aerial Delivery Platoons. After transitioning, Kareem worked at Deloitte, where he advised federal clients on Strategy and Brand Risk. Kareem left Deloitte to Launch 4RL in 2021 and has since bootstrapped the development of the company’s first product. At DoorDash, Kareem leads “new product” readiness and is responsible for launch success.

Kareem is the first former MCSF scholarship recipient to join the board as a full director and is the youngest board member in the Foundation’s history. Kareem’s father, USMC Veteran Sergeant Natambu Elshabazz served in the Marine Corps from 1964-1968 and was wounded in combat in Vietnam. 

Kareem is a native Washingtonian and lives in the neighborhood he was raised in near the H-street Corridor in NE DC.