Mergers & Acquisitions names the 2021 PE Leaders in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, including Jordana Semaan, head of HR Gulf and Asia and diversity and inclusion champion for Investcorp.

In July, Investcorp appointed Jordana Semaan, head of HR Gulf and Asia, into a newly established role as diversity and inclusion champion, reporting to executive chairman Mohammed Alardhi. The firm also announced initiatives, including new talent acquisition, retention and engagement policies and mandatory unconscious bias and D&I training for all employees; a new policy requiring all open positions to shortlist at least 50 percent of candidates from diverse backgrounds; and new affinity groups and enhanced parental leave policies. As part of the strategy, Investcorp partnered with organizations, including the GCC chapter of the 30% Club, CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, Level 20 and 100 Women in Finance. Headquartered in Manama, Bahrain and founded in 1982, Investcorp has $35 billion in assets under management. The firm has more than 43 nationalities represented among its 460 global employees. Women comprise more than 30 percent of Investcorp’s workforce. Semaan joined Investcorp in 2019. Semaan shared some insights with Mergers & Acquisitions in this Q&A:

What are the benefits of DEI and what steps are you taking to improve it at your firm?

The benefits of DEI to the PE industry are that by implementing DEI practices, you cultivate an inclusive corporate culture for your employees, future hires, and clients, which ultimately benefits the organization itself. The data is there that having diversity in firms leads to better results, and in today’s world, there is pressure from investors to ensure that who they deal with are diverse and care about DEI. It is not just the right thing to do. It is now a must-have. We have implemented recruitment policies to ensure that we are always looking at a larger pool of diverse candidates. We have implemented a flexible work policy and offer all employees access to mindfulness apps to promote mental health. Every initiative or step we take, we try and look at how we can better the employee experience rather than just focusing on specific numbers. In DEI it’s about feeling included and heard.