Mergers & Acquisitions names 2021 Top 25 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, including HKW’s Caroline Young.

How are you a champion for change?
2020 marked a big change for me. At HKW, I went from partner, responsible for overseeing all divestiture activity, to being the director of ESG. This includes updating and formalizing policies and procedures, as well as improving awareness, monitoring and communication on ESG activities. ESG encompasses the full life cycle of an investment: sourcing the right opportunities; conducting appropriate diligence with respect to acquisitions; ensuring continuous improvement; tracking portfolios companies’ initiatives; and overviewing our ESG initiatives upon exit.

My new role at HKW enabled me to reduce my hours so that I could establish my own consulting firm, Craftsbury Consulting LLC, which offers a career development engagement service, working with women in finance; and a service in support of business owners contemplating selling.