Mergers & Acquisitions has named 36 leaders the 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A. All are outstanding dealmakers both inside and outside of their firms.

Interest in women’s issues is high, as is clear by the record number of women heading to the U.S. Congress. The momentum is fueled, at least in part, by the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault, although the movement is facing something of a backlash at the moment. Some men in the financial services sector are reacting by avoiding women.

But many women in the middle market are stepping up and recommitting to helping each other. “We launched Exponent Women to reinforce the value of bringing together women in financial services. We exchange connections, information and ideas to help one another succeed,” explains Michelle Van Hellemont, managing director of Accordion and a founding member of Exponent Women. At a recent event hosted by the group, 200 female dealmakers came together, with banker-turned-entrepreneur Sallie Krawcheck as the featured speaker. (For more on the event, see our slideshow.)

Recruiting women has become more of a priority at private equity firms. Eighty-three percent of private equity managers based in North America, Asia and Europe say they have focused on increasing gender diversity in their front-office roles over the last decade, according to new research from EY.

Advice for women? “Step forward, speak up and lead,” says Goodwin’s Anna Dodson.

Read the stories of the Most Influential Women in their own words in the edited Q&A's that follow. For longer versions of the Q&As, click on the links provided below. (Demitri Diakantonis and Danielle Fugazy contributed to this report.)

Marilyn Adler

Marilyn Adler

Senior managing director
Medley Capital

What is your current role? I have been running SBIC funds for over 22 years. I founded Medley SBIC six years ago. Every week, I seek interesting deals for my fund. I analyze the company’s financials and try to understand most of all what the downside risk will be to a debt investor in the deal. I conduct meetings with industry experts and with my network of relationships that I have built up over 30 years.

Describe a challenge you overcame. When I started a family I wanted to work a more flexible schedule. The large firm I was working with was not able to accommodate me. I left to work at a two-person startup venture fund that would not have been able to afford someone with by background on a full-time basis. It worked for them, and it worked for me.

How do you support women? I am a founding member of Exponent Women, a networking group for women in finance to help each other. I am on the Board of SBIA and active in UJA’s Women of Wall Street and Private Equity Women’s Investor Network and ACG. (Click here for full interview).

Laura Albrecht

Laura Albrecht

Managing director
Maranon Capital

Describe a recent deal. In 2018, I led Maranon’s senior credit facility to support the recapitalization of Culinarte’ Marketing Group LLC (dba “Bonewerks”) by Kainos Capital. Maranon invested in a market leader with a clear value proposition to discerning chefs. We were also excited that the premium product exhibited the prevailing trend of clean label that consumers continue to demand in the marketplace.

How do you support women? I lead our deal team staffing function, diversity recruiting efforts and staff development and training function. I play a key role in fostering Maranon’s culture and talent development and have been a champion for increasing gender and racial diversity. Today the Maranon team includes ten women and minorities in key positions in investment management, fundraising, financial reporting and administration.

What is your advice for women? To be your authentic self – live true to your individual yearnings, values and personality to break through group pressures or gender perceptions. It could mean pursuing a less traditional path or being the voice of dissension – all while wearing those sassy heels. (Click here for full interview).

Susan Beth

Susan Beth

Chief operating officer
NRD Capital

Describe a challenge you overcame. I spent the first 37 ½ years of my life in a family business, and 14 years of my professional career. The decision to take a risk and leave the family business to help my colleague start NRD Capital was quite the challenge. At the end of the day, I knew I was being called to do more, so I took the leap knowing I might fail, but being more afraid of not trying at all.

How has a mentor helped your career? Years ago, Fred DeLuca, the founder of Subway, asked me what I loved to do and I said, “I love that moment when I’m on stage, look out and see that something I said made a difference to someone.” He said, “Then why don’t you go do that?” Ultimately, he challenged me to start my own professional speaking business and mentored me through the whole startup process. My first official professional speaking gig was at the Subway worldwide convention.

What is your advice for women? Envision what Utopia would look like for you, and then work backwards from there. (Click here for full interview).

Sarah Bradley

Sarah Bradley

Co-founder, partner
Kainos Capital

How has a mentor helped your career? Hal Ritch, former Head of M&A at DLJ and Citigroup, and Tony James, former Head of Investment Banking of DLJ and former CEO of Blackstone, made a huge difference in my career. They were huge supporters of developing talent in the industry and were truly gender-blind.

What is your advice for women?
1. Actively lobby and ask from day one to work on deals, so you can gain dealmaking experience early in your career. Too often, women are steered into functions like marketing, business development, and investor relations – the “softer side” where it is easier to place a female. The excuse often used is that the females don’t have the deal experience of their male counterparts. That is why you must be an advocate for yourself and work on deals from the very beginning.

2. Take risks. It is okay to make a mistake or even fail. It will not ruin your career.

3. If you have a seat at the table, talk, give your opinions and speak up. If you don’t, there is no reason to be in the room. (Click here for full interview).

Holly Buckley

Holly Buckley

Partner
McGuireWoods

How did you get into dealmaking? I started my legal career as a healthcare regulatory attorney. At an early point, I assisted with a merger of two healthcare facilities, and it became clear to me that the pace and complexity of healthcare transactions was exciting and a space where I wanted to spend my professional life.

What is your current role? I spend most of my time providing regulatory support to private equity sponsors acquiring healthcare businesses. I am the co-leader of the Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry Team and a co-chair of our annual Healthcare and Life Sciences Private Equity and Finance Conference.

How do you support women? I am actively involved in hiring for my department and the broader private equity group within the firm. I have hired and mentored many women in this field. I am part of the McGuireWoods Women in Private Equity and Finance Initiative, which promotes the advancement of women in private equity and lending through a series of industry-focused events that provide substantive educational and networking opportunities.

What is your advice for women? Be direct and persistent when asking for what you want. (Click here for full interview).

Claudine Cohen

Claudine Cohen

Principal
CohnReznick

Describe a challenge you overcame. After a successful career in South Africa, I relocated to America. My first position here set my career back 10 years. That was a bitter pill to swallow, and my confidence took a hit. I had to prove myself again, so I put my head down and focused on my work and those things within my control. I listened, learned and found a mentor to provide guidance and advice--all of which helped fast-track my career.

What is your current role? I lead the firm’s Transactional Advisory Services practice in the Northeast and co-lead our national Financial Sponsors industry practice. I am particularly proud of working with another partner to form the Partner Advisory Council, a forum to communicate ideas and suggestions to firm leadership.

Describe your influence on the middle market. I made a concerted effort to build relationships within the independent sponsor community, an underserved yet growing asset class. I enjoy introducing my independent sponsor clients to my family office and private equity clients. As Chair for ACG New York’s Women of Leadership, I work with an outstanding group of people. (Click here for full interview).

Jennifer Cotton

Jennifer Cotton

Managing director, chief underwriting officer
Madison Capital Funding

What is your current role? I am responsible for all aspects of Madison’s underwriting process, including diligence, structuring and documentation, all of which is handled by a very experienced group of 7 team leaders and 38 underwriters. I am also a member of our Investment Committee and our Senior Leadership Team.

How has a mentor helped your career? My earliest mentor was Martha Osowski, with whom I worked at the University of Rochester (my alma mater). She was impressive and held a high-ranking position. She had a real “presence,” and I could tell early on that the expectations she set drove high-quality results. And if she was ever bothered by being one of a small number of women in the room, she didn’t appear to acknowledge it. She was a working mother with two young children – and though she had her MBA, she was working on her EdD. I didn’t realize it at the time, but what resonated most with me was her drive to succeed, her quest to continue learning and her ability to balance a successful career with a busy family life. (Click here for full interview).

Nishita Cummings

Nishita Cummings

Partner
Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors

Describe a challenge you overcame. Starting a private equity fund is very hard to do. Having been part of the growth equity strategy here since its inception in 2010, I’ve lived through all of the struggles: fundraising for a new vintage, the high-wire act of investing in your first companies, which need to succeed, and attracting talent to a startup. We overcame all of these by defining a clear strategy and had the right team in place to execute.

Describe a recent deal. I led our investment in Circle Cardiovascular Imaging. Circle’s software enables doctors to review and analyze cardiac imaging more effectively and efficiently so that physicians can spend more time providing value-based care, a current revolutionary theme in the healthcare market. This company embodies the continued trend of technology augmenting healthcare by solving complicated problems. It’s also a model investment: demonstrable ROI to the end user, proven management team, and a highly scalable business model.

How do you support women? In an industry where less than 20 percent are women, we are at 50 percent female professionals. (Click here for full interview).

Karen Davies

Karen Davies

Managing director
Huntington Bank

Describe a recent deal. I led my team in working with Gridiron Capital for its initial leveraged buyout of Leaf Filter, a large middle-market firm. I helped lead and advise Gridiron with a $375 million dividend re-cap finance transaction, taking them from a six-member bank group to a twelve-member bank group with Huntington Sponsor Finance Group as the agent. This marked a new watermark to highlight our capabilities, and we did it in a 60-day window, which exceeds the industry average for debt placement of this size.

Describe a challenge you overcame. I was just about to have my first child, while working as a senior manager overseeing two bank operations sites. With this meaningful, new life transition, I struggled evaluating my options. Should I take a step back? Should I leave the workforce for a period of time? Eventually, with great input and support from my managers, I found a way to continue growing my career and still take care of my family. I am a real-life example of having a successful career and family fulfillment. (Click here for full interview).

Eva Davis

Eva Davis

Partner, co-chair, private equity
Winston & Strawn

Describe a recent deal. I am leading two transactions impacted by the new CFIUS regulations.

How has a mentor helped your career? Kara Cissell-Roell, managing director of VMG Partners, has mentored me for almost 15 years. Kara has distinguished herself as a person who wants to see other women succeed. She has introduced me to companies and investors in the consumer products space that need private equity M&A legal expertise. Kara has provided unprecedented insights into the issues they might be facing and how to best partner with them to help them succeed.

How do you support women? For more than 25 years, I’ve worked to develop and support the women in my network by providing early leads on M&A and financing deal opportunities, sharing market trends (learned from our private company deals that are not publicly available), providing early leads on individuals who may be interested in moving to a portfolio company, and serving as a “reference” when women want to switch firms – in sum, serving as a “connector” to my “Old Girls’ Network.” (Click here for full interview).

Anna Dodson

Anna Dodson

Partner
Goodwin

How did you get into dealmaking? I had this wonderful professor, Professor Arpad von Lazar, from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy who helped me get an internship in Budapest in the early 1990s. That internship included sitting in on negotiations among an American company, a private Hungarian company and several Hungarian government owned companies to negotiate a joint venture to build a private telecommunications ring in Budapest. I simply loved the deal-making in dealmaking, and I was hooked.

Describe a challenge you overcame. Public speaking was a tremendous challenge and real obstacle to becoming the dealmaker that I wanted to be. To practice, I did two things. The first was volunteering as often as I could to present neighborhood workshops on business law topics as part of Goodwin’s Neighborhood Business Initiative. The second path was to just do it – sign up to speak publicly.

What is your advice for women? Lead. If you want to be a leader, at every opportunity, you should step forward, speak up and lead. (Click here for full interview).

Venita Fields

Venita Fields

Partner
Pelham S2K Managers

What is your current role? I manage Pelham S2K Managers’ presence in the Midwest market and evaluate and fund potential investments. I am one of four partners on the Investment Committee responsible for deal selection and approval. This is my fourth Limited Partnership, and in the prior three, I helped lead, manage and direct debt and equity investments in 38 portfolio companies.

Describe your influence on the middle market. For the last seven years, I have served on the board of ACG Chicago, with the last six as a member of the Executive Committee. For the last two years, I have served as Board President. During my time on the board, I have worked with other women board leaders to successfully engage and increase female membership, especially women of color through the Chapter’s Women’s Network. The board has promoted diversity in its programming, making sure our panelists include women and persons of color. Lastly, as President, I led the board’s successful hire of the Chapter’s first female CEO, Kimberly Hammond, who assumed that role on November 1. (Click here for full interview).

Shannon Fritz

Shannon Fritz

Senior managing director
Antares Capital

Describe your influence on the middle market. As a deal professional at Antares Capital for nearly 15 years, I have had the opportunity to lead the evaluation and closing of a significant number of transactions for the Antares Capital team, the middle market leader in cash flow lending. Antares Capital sees nearly every transaction opportunity in the market and closed over 260 transactions in 2017.

How do you support women? I have been a key contributor in starting up the Antares Women’s Network, which launched in 2018, assisting in establishing the network’s goals and objectives, governing board structure, initial and ongoing events, firm-wide engagement and currently serve on the AWE governing board. AWE is an Employee Resource Group formed to support key initiatives at Antares Capital around diversity, inclusion, retention and awareness. AWE’s goals and objectives are to promote these initiatives through a focus on education and networking. In 2018, AWE hosted 2 keynote speakers who engaged the entire firm on these important topics, facilitated numerous networking opportunities across the firm through coffee meetings and discussion sessions, and planned several activities, including a firm-wide volunteer day. (Click here for full interview).

Jeri Harman

Jeri Harman

Founder, Chairman
Avante Mezzanine Partners

Describe your influence on the middle market. I have a long history of leadership roles. This includes Co-Chair of the ACG Los Angeles Business Conference for the last 20 years, steering committee member of Private Equity Women’s Investor Alliance (PEWIN), Past Chair (2018) of the Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA) and former member of the ACG Global Board of Directors. In 2018, my firm was named Women Owned Firm of the Year by PEWIN and the SBIC of the Year by the SBA.

Describe a challenge you overcame. The biggest challenge of my career was founding and launching my own fund in 2009. Starting a new fund is always a daunting and risky endeavor, but never more so than in the Great Recession. Convincing my colleagues to take the risk with me, convincing investors to commit at a time when they were pulling in, having the patience to endure a two-plus-year fundraising process, and holding the team together as we went through ups and downs were all quite challenging. We ultimately prevailed and went on to raise our second fund in 2015 (in less than six months and oversubscribed). (Click here for full interview).

Hollie Moore Haynes

Hollie Moore Haynes

Founder, managing partner
Luminate Capital Partners

How did you get into dealmaking? I got a job as an analyst at Hellman & Friedman in 1995. That was the beginning of the era of PE firms hiring young people and staffing out “pre-MBA” teams.

How has a mentor helped your career? In the summer of 1998, I worked for Meridee Moore at Farallon Capital. I was an MBA intern. She loved to invest money and also had 3 kids. Changed my life. Today, she is an informal advisor and also an investor in my funds.

What is your current role? I am the founder and managing partner of my firm. I run the firm. I would like to spend all of my time working on deals and talking with our investors and management teams, but that’s not life as a firm leader. I also spend a lot of time on firm issues - financials, tax, IT. We are investors but, Luminate itself is a company. It can be difficult to balance the two.

What is your advice for women? Make people money. Then make them more. Keep doing that. (Click here for full interview).

Nanette Heide

Nanette Heide

Partner
Duane Morris

What is your current role? I represent private equity and venture capital investors, multinational and domestic corporations (public and private), in a wide spectrum of corporate finance transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital investments, institutional private placements, cross-border transactions, debt and equity structuring transactions, reverse mergers, joint ventures and strategic alliances. I have also formed and structured private equity and hedge funds. I am also a member of our Partners’ Board, which is responsible for all major policy decisions for the firm. In addition, I serve as the Chair, Duane Morris Fashion, Retail & Consumer Products industry sector group and am a member of the Steering Committee for our Women’s Impact Network for Success. Starting in January, I will be the co-leader of our Private Equity Group.

How do you support women? I am a founding member of Exponent Women, which we created to provide a new platform where women in the finance ecosystem could come together to exchange ideas, information and introductions. In July 2018, we hosted our inaugural Exponent Exchange, which brought together more than 200 women for a day of networking and content-rich presentations. (Click here for full interview).

Kristina Heinze

Kristina Heinze

Co-founder, partner
ParkerGale

Describe your current role. I am responsible for sourcing and monitoring our investments, helping lead fundraising efforts and heading up our professional development program.

Describe a recent deal. I led our acquisition of Rippe & Kingston, a leading financial and practice management software provider into law firms. Rippe was very similar to our other deals, in that we were able to find a high-growth, profitable software business still owned and being run by the founder who had never taken on outside capital. This trend in our microcosm of the technology private equity market is one we see quite often – the founder has built and grown a really nice business with a terrific product-market fit, but hasn’t invested in a sales and marketing, team or R&D and doesn’t necessarily have a succession plan in place. We love these opportunities, where we can show the founder why we can help provide liquidity for him/her while also providing a platform for growth for their team and employees who are like family to them. We’ve already hired a CEO, CFO, Director of Marketing, and three software engineers and consultants in the six months since closing at Rippe, and hope to have another handful of new hires in sales and client services by year end. (Click here for full interview).

Pam Hendrickson

Pam Hendrickson

Chief operating officer
The Riverside Co.

Describe your influence on the middle market. I spend a lot of time trying to deemphasize the private in private equity. We have wonderful stories that need to be shared, whether I’m speaking to leaders in Washington, D.C., or talking to business owners in Washington state. Through my work on the board of the American Investment Council, as past Chairman of the Board of the Association for Corporate Growth, or as part of my work with Riverside, I have watched how private equity helps businesses, workers and communities, and I am passionate about telling that story.

How has a mentor helped your career? I was incredibly lucky to have James Bainbridge Lee III (Jimmy Lee) as my mentor at JPMorgan Chase. Not only did he put my name forward for a big promotion, he was also a great coach. He was direct when you did a bad job, but also supportive.

How do you support women? It sounds simple, but being there means a lot. Not just by showing that women can – and should – hold the types of positions I’ve held. But also through just being available. (Click here for full interview).

Meghan Jodz

Meghan Jodz

M&A tax services partner
Grant Thornton

Describe a recent deal. In January 2018, I served as tax advisor to the Rodale family in the $200 million sale of its health-and-wellness-focused publishing company. I helped the family transition a business that began in the post-WWII era by J.I. Rodale, the grandfather of organic farming. The deal was not only significant from the family’s perspective but it also highlighted a transformative time in publishing when companies needed to modernize in order to compete.

Describe a challenge you overcame. When my children were young, I was faced with the decision to continue advancing my career, remain in my existing role or pause my career. I talked to colleagues and clients and realized I could have both an incredible family and satisfying career. I also recently became a breast cancer survivor. Through the love and devotion of my family and Grant Thornton’s support, I overcame one of the scariest things I have ever faced.

What is your advice for women? Be bold. Don’t doubt yourself – the men certainly don’t doubt you, nor themselves. And always speak up and offer ideas. (Click here for full interview).

Kristin Johnson

Kristin Johnson

Managing director
Altamont Capital

How did you get into dealmaking? I began my career in management consulting. While I learned from the variety of the assignments in strategy and operations, I found myself more interested in the quantitative elements of business – how our assignments would drive revenue growth and cash flow, and how they would impact value for shareholders. After business school, I joined Morgan Stanley to build those advisory skill sets. I primarily worked with PE firms on financing and monetizing portfolio companies and presenting new investment ideas. I joined TPG’s fundraising team in 2007 after 10 years in banking. It was certainly an interesting seat during the tumultous global financial crisis, as both GPs and LPs faced dramatic portfolio challenges, as well as investment opportunities. I have led sourcing and capital markets for Altamont Capital since the firm was founded.

How has a mentor helped your career? I was fortunate early in my career at Morgan Stanley to work with Ruth Porat, currently the chief financial officer at Alphabet. I was inspired by her drive to provide the most thoughtful advice for clients, her tireless work ethic and her no-nonsense approach to difficult situations. (Click here for full interview).

Mary Josephs

Mary Josephs

Founder, CEO
Verit Advisors

Describe your influence on the middle market. Over the last 30 years, I have become nationally recognized as a leader in middle-market corporate finance, raising capital, governance, M&A and restructuring. Verit Advisors specializes in this sector, and I have advised, structured and closed over 300 ownership transition transactions for these companies, in addition to having given hundreds of presentations at conferences and written scores of articles and white papers.

Describe a recent deal. One current trend is professional service companies that are abandoning legacy partnership structures in favor of an employee ownership model. We view this migration, both mathematically and qualitatively, as a win-win for both the transitioning and new partners, as well as the company’s growth and culture. We believe more fast-growing, high-quality companies, such as Aarete and MorganFranklin Consulting, both transactions we led, will embrace this model.

What is your advice for women? Many people didn’t think I could succeed as both the mother of five and the CEO of a fast-growing investment bank. My advice: Don’t let others define what you can and can’t do. Your professional and personal passions are not mutually exclusive, unless you make them so. (Click here for full interview).

Julia Karol

Julia Karol

President, chief operating officer
Watermill Group

Describe your current role. I’m responsible for overall firm vision, operations, investor relations and marketing, as well as development and implementation of strategy for our portfolio companies. I’m a member of the investment committee and a liaison for the Boards of Advisors and executive management teams. I sit on three company boards and am currently responsible for our U.K. investment, Cooper & Turner.

How has a mentor helped your career? As a member of one of the few family-owned private equity firms, I’m fortunate to call my father, Steven Karol, a mentor along with the entire Watermill senior partnership team. Steven taught me the basics of getting a deal done and the nuances of building a new strategy with a management team.

How do you support women? We take pride in the diversity of our team; one third of Watermill’s team at the director level or above is female. As a firm we sponsor a number of ACG events geared toward supporting and increasing the number of women in the industry, and we also support a private dealmakers network for women. (Click here for full interview).

Kathleen King

Kathleen King

Vice president, corporate development
Day & Zimmermann

Describe your current role. Along with the entire Corporate Development team, we help guide the company in achieving our strategy, and specifically our growth goals. We do a lot of deal sourcing, looking for targets that align with our profile.

How do you support women? The best advice I have heard on how women can help other women, and advice I’ve benefited from as well, was pretty simple: Advocate for other women in your environment. That is it. Support each other. If we all do that, we can make an impact. And a lot of small impacts add up to big impact. One thing I heard in all the MeToo press also resonated with me: Choose your one thing and do it. Some people march, some advocate, some are loud and others are quiet. Find your one thing.

What is your advice for women? Apply for the job. Even if you think you are not fully qualified. Try it. You’ll more than likely find that you can not only do it, you can do it well. (Click here for full interview).

Karin Kovacic

Karin Kovacic

Managing director
Monroe Capital

How did you get into dealmaking? My career in dealmaking started in 2005 at Fifth Street Capital. I was extremely fortunate to join as the fifth employee and help build the company since its early stages. The experience and team helped build my network and define my career.

How has a mentor helped your career? I met Ramsey Goodrich of Carter, Morse and Goodrich, at my ACG Connecticut meeting in 2005, and he has been an incredible mentor and friend ever since. Ramsey gives constructive feedback and empowers me to utilize my strengths, improve my weaknesses and broaden my skill set.

Describe your influence on the middle market. I served on the ACG Connecticut board from 2006-2015 in almost every position they have, ranging from Program chair, Sponsorship chair, Private Equity chair, to President and Chairman. I served on the Alliance of M&A Advisors board from 2012-2016. Additionally, I served on the ACG Global Board and Executive Committee from 2015-2018. Currently, I am a member of the Public Policy, Intergrowth and Strategic Planning committees for ACG Global. (Click here for full interview).

Patricia Luscombe

Patricia Luscombe

Managing director
Lincoln International

Describe your current role. Co-head the firm’s valuations and opinions group, which provides quarterly valuation services to a majority of the public and private BDCs, global multi-strategy asset managers, private equity and credit funds reflecting approximately $50 billion in middle market debt and equity investments. Responsible for working with clients and their boards of directors, in addition to marketing to new clients. Actively engage with Managing Director colleagues to maximize opportunities to introduce valuation services into client relationships and/or identify opportunities to add value to the firm’s client roster. Member of the U.S. Management Committee. Also, focused on recruiting, training and mentoring a diverse team, including many women.

How do you support women? I focus on leading by example and fostering an environment for junior women to gain confidence in their own abilities to work in a historically male dominated field.

What is your advice for women? To realize that you can have it all, a successful career and rewarding home life. That balance starts with dedication and commitment to both career and home life. (Click here for full interview).

Justine Mannering

Justine Mannering

Managing director
Stifel

Describe a recent deal. We are increasingly seeing consumer brands growing quickly and in particular internationalizing at an accelerating rate with the advance of technology and social media. Deals reflective of this include: the sale of Erno Lazslo (US) to CITIC Capital (China), the sale of Harrys of London (UK) to Charles Cohen (US), the sale of Happy Socks (Sweden) to Palamon (UK) and the sale of Graphic Controls (US) to Nisshua (Japan).

How has a mentor helped your career? I was particularly lucky to work with Euan Rellie, who co-founded BDA Partners, where I was from 2011–2017. Euan not only encouraged me to take leadership and senior roles earlier than I might naturally looked for them, but also supported me fully in these roles and on championing internal initiatives.

How do you support women? I am a strong believer that women bring a real value to the finance sector and that there has been significant change to enable more women to stay in and succeed in finance. Women need to support and empower each other to achieve this. I am a founding member of Exponent Women. (Click here for full interview).

Judy Mencher

Judy Mencher

Founder, CEO
Race Point Investors

Summarize your career. I started as a bankruptcy and corporate financing attorney. I realized that I could do the deal negotiating better than most of my clients, so I left the law firm to join Fidelity Investments, which was starting a distressed investing platform. At Fidelity, I developed a method for mutual funds to acquire bank debt, and we began a control distressed investing program, meaning we would acquire the debt and usually convert to equity in a restructured company. The restructured company’s securities would trade at a higher value, since the excess leverage overhang was removed. I was involved in almost all the major restructurings of the early 90’s including, R.H. Macy and Company, Trump Plaza, Drexel Burnham Lambert, Eastern Airlines, etc. I personally negotiated the sale of R.H. Macy to Federated Department Stores, as Fidelity funds had become the second largest creditor through acquisition of distressed debt. I had a successful career at DDJ Capital Management LLC, a firm I co-founded with Dan Harmetz and David Breazzano. After I sold my equity in DDJ, I tried several careers before I settled on doing my own thing at Race Point. (Click here for full interview).

Beatrice Mitchell

Beatrice Mitchell

Co-founder, managing director
Sperry, Mitchell

How did you get into dealmaking? I got into the business totally by accident. After business school, I was working at an ad agency. Fortunately, I met the president of a boutique investment bank at a party and convinced him to hire me. I was very lucky, as I had nothing to recommend me for a position at an investment bank.

How has a mentor helped your career? My father, David Mitchell, also a banker, was a significant mentor. I am the oldest of four daughters. My father brought us up to be confident and independent, and to pursue whatever careers we wanted. So despite the banking industry being very male-oriented, he encouraged and supported me throughout my career. He also thought that starting my own firm was a great idea.

Describe your influence on the middle market. When I co-founded my firm, I was one of a very few women in the deal business. In the early 1980s, the M&A and private equity markets were still small and in their infancy. Everyone knew each other. We sold Calumet Coach to Bain Capital, its first leveraged buyout, in 1986. (Click here for full interview).

Hazel Moore

Hazel Moore

Co-founder, chairman
FirstCapital

How did you get into dealmaking? I had an unconventional start in dealmaking. I have a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and had a brief flirtation with a technical career before moving to Hong Kong and starting to work in financial services. I was inspired by the entrepreneurial activity and rapid growth occurring in China, so after returning to the U.K., I co-founded FirstCapital to provide investment banking advice for high-growth technology businesses.

Describe your influence on the middle market. I was awarded an OBE by HM the Queen in 2017 for services to entrepreneurship and innovation, recognizing not just my work at FirstCapital, but also my role as a non-executive director of Innovate UK, the U.K.’s innovation agency. I am an adviser to the Future Fifty, the U.K.’s fastest growing tech companies.

How do you support women? I actively insist on and seek out female candidates when recruiting, with the result that FirstCapital is one of the very few tech investment banks led by women (not only myself – our U.S. office is led by Sheana O’Sullivan, but also with a 40 percent female workforce. (Click here for full interview).

Raquel Palmer

Raquel Palmer

Co-managing partner
KPS Capital Partners

Describe your influence on the middle market. KPS Capital Partners’ reputation and ability to see value where others do not provides a critical and unique strategy to the middle market. We have acquired many companies and transformed them through operational improvements, strategic acquisitions, market repositioning, management improvement and investment in manufacturing footprint. We have created significant value for our investors through this strategy, which is evident in the four exits KPS announced in 2018, three of which I led: Electrical Components International to Cerberus Capital Management LP, Expera Specialty Solutions to Ahlstrom-Munksjö Oyj and International Equipment Solutions LLC’s attachment business to Stanley Black & Decker Inc.

How do you support women? An important focus of our recruitment efforts is to try to bring more women into the firm. I personally meet with every woman who makes it through our initial interviewing process and highlight what makes our firm unique. It absolutely helps that I am a Managing Partner of KPS Capital Partners and have balanced this career with also having three children. We are very proud that we have several other women in senior positions at our firm. (Click here for full interview).

Gretchen Perkins

Gretchen Perkins

Partner
Huron Capital

Describe your influence on the middle market. I am Co-Chair of the Association for Corporate Growth’s Public Policy Committee. Our mission is to educate legislators and regulators on the importance of the middle market private equity/private capital community and advocate for policies that maintain the free flow of capital to the middle market. The mid-term elections have ushered in a whole new crop of legislators that need outreach from the ACG Public Policy Committee. We must continually make legislators and regulators aware of the important role that the middle market plays in our nation’s economy and the significant number of jobs created by our ecosystem.

How do you support women? I mentor with an organization called Women of Tomorrow, which is a mentorship program for inner city high school girls that are deemed “at risk” by their schools. They may be deemed such for a variety of reasons: extreme poverty, drug use in the home, abuse, etc. Our mission is to show these young women a pathway from poverty by exposing them to various careers. (Click here for full interview).

Trisha Renner

Trisha Renner

Managing director
Baird

Describe your current role. I advise global clients primarily in the industrial sector regarding M&A, capital raising, strategic alternatives and general business advisory. Within Baird, I participate in our global leadership committee focused on growing our practice and developing our teams.

How do you support women? Early in my career, after a long day of travel, our CEO and I decided it was time to put some real dollars and time behind encouraging more women to enter the financial services and banking, in particular. That original effort turned into fellowships with some of the leading business schools and a diversity committee, which has morphed into a very popular Women’s Associate Resource Group. This is a tough career, but I am proud of the effort both Baird and I put into recruiting more women into the field.

What other career path might you have chosen? If I could start over, I would pursue an engineering degree and a career starting with engineering. Technology is such an important part of our future. My advice to all young women considering a career path in finance is to focus on the technical side first. (Click here for full interview).

Sheryl Schwartz

Sheryl Schwartz

Managing director
Caspian Private Equity (dba Flexstone Partners)

Describe a recent deal. A recent investment that I led includes a first time healthcare fund, focused on the lower middle market, where the team members spun out of a larger firm. Throughout my career, I have invested in “emerging managers,” and at Caspian, we have an expertise in investing in emerging managers. While this underwriting requires significant time and analysis, given the risks of a new team and limited track record information, it can lead to significant outperformance. Emerging managers are hungry and usually have stronger alignment of interest. Since this deal was focused on the healthcare sector, it has significant tailwinds from demographics, the need to reduce costs, consolidation and the outsourcing trend. The tailwinds, combined with a team that has sector knowledge, experience and relationships, can generate significant alpha.

How do you support women? In addition to my role on the board of WAVE, which is an organization designed to help mentor women in private equity, I speak at many university private equity and finance conferences and recently, I taught classes on private equity at four different universities as a guest lecturer. (Click here for full interview).

Heather Smith Thorne

Heather Smith Thorne

Managing director
Swander Pace Capital

Describe a recent deal. In December 2017, we acquired JR Watkins, a brand/division of Watkins representing about half of its parent company’s sales. The unorthodox idea involved a complicated carve-out of the IP and “book of business,” establishing a new corporate entity, and hiring a new management team. The deal’s unusual structure and executional nature created immediate value for investors, and it represents the kind of creative, angle-driven deal that is key to getting transactions done in today’s competitive market.

Describe an obstacle you overcame. One of my first private equity deals experienced difficult headwinds after acquisition, drawing increased scrutiny from lenders. For months, my focus was on covenants, principal and interest payments, building and rebuilding cash flow statements, retaining managers, and worrying about future deals. The situation proved to be an invaluable learning experience – preparing me for dealing with downturns, improving business performances and free cash flow profiles, and negotiating with lenders – while demonstrating my fortitude and resilience.

How do you support women? The most impactful, practical thing I do is hire women at our firm and portfolio companies. (Click here for full interview).

Michelle Van Hellemont

Michelle Van Hellemont

Managing director
Accordion

Describe a recent deal. In October 2018, Accordion announced a significant minority growth equity investment from FFL Partners. Accordion’s rapid growth and adoption in the private equity industry combined with the promising runway were significant factors in elevating the firm’s attractiveness to institutional investors. As head of the firm’s business development efforts, I was responsible for much of the go-to-market strategy content and communication throughout the management presentations that brought this exciting partnership to a close. This deal is a great illustration of client turned investor, as a testament to recognizing the larger brand opportunity Accordion has built through its trusted position in the private equity marketplace. The BD-driven reputation and thought leadership position now allows Accordion to capitalize on the trend toward elevating the importance of value creation within operating companies.

How do you support women? As founding members, we launched Exponent Women to reinforce the value of bringing together women in financial services — and creating experiences that are actionable. We exchange connections, information and ideas to help one another succeed. (Click here for full interview).

Amy Weisman

Amy Weisman

Director, business development
Sterling Investment Partners

Describe your influence on the middle market. Twenty years ago, I was one of the early architects of the business development role for middle market PE firms. Through the years, I have continued to bring innovation to deal sourcing by providing guidance to colleagues regarding branding and using social media to build deal flow. Last year I spearheaded, with a few colleagues, the first ever PE-PE deal sourcing event.

How do you support women? Besides one-on-one mentoring of many women, I have worked with universities to increase the “pipeline” of young women entering finance. Once these women enter finance, a next step is to develop a community of support. That is why I became a founding member of a focused women’s dealmaking group, Exponent Women.

What is your advice for women? Network like a woman. In today’s hyper-networked, social media-inundated, and fast-past world, you need to stand out with new people. I encourage women to use their natural set of communicative, people skills to their positive advantage. (Click here for full interview).