Mergers & Acquisitions names the 2023 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, including Shamrock Capital’s Laura Held.
How are you a champion of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)?
I led Shamrock’s recent investment in AnswerLab, a women-founded and owned-company that helps enterprises with their digital transformation efforts by offering UX research services in digital strategy, optimization and measurement across the product development life cycle. In parallel with the transaction, Shamrock and AnswerLab together established a board of directors with a commitment to diversity. Additionally, the partnership will continue to prioritize AnswerLab’s initiatives around DEI recruiting and employment practices, as well as financial commitments specifically for DEI initiatives.
How are you advancing the state of women?
In 2022, I was involved in several initiatives internally at Shamrock and more broadly across the industry to increase female representation in the private equity industry. This includes the founding of Women in Media Investing (WIMI), an initiative in partnership with KKR to provide education and networking opportunities to junior and mid-level female investment professionals in the private equity industry. The organization seeks to promote connectivity amongst media and entertainment investors through increasing engagement, educating the next generation of investment professionals, and facilitating networking opportunities.
WIMI held its inaugural event in July with a panel to discuss building a career in media investing, ways that investors shape the media and entertainment landscape, and recent market trends affecting these initiatives. I was joined by Ted Oberwager (KKR), Mary Ann Halford (Altman Solon), and Juliette Morris, (Adweek, Shamrock portfolio company) on the panel.
For the full list of 2023 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, see here.
