With more than 320 employees and offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco, Audax Group believes that the best decisions come from having a diverse team. In 2020, Audax was named a founding signatory of the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) Diversity in Action Initiative and formed a diversity working group to spearhead DEI initiatives across the organization. The group includes a cross-section of employees throughout the private debt and private equity businesses and is led by 10 managing directors and the head of human resources. It meets bi-monthly to continuously assess and improve DEI efforts. Read more about the firm’s initiatives below.
What steps are you taking to improve DEI at your firm?
In 2021, Audax established two DEI strategy groups comprised of professionals of all seniority levels that have been tasked with creating the Audax DEI roadmap.
The company holds town halls during which managing directors facilitate a forum to discuss DEI topics. The town halls are intended to provide a “safe space” for raising concerns and ideas.
Unconscious bias training programs are held for managers in our private debt business. These training sessions are hosted by a third-party expert to facilitate candid and effective discussions.
Audax curated a library of educational resources available to all employees at no cost, including materials on unconscious bias and systemic racism.
Audax has also entered into partnerships with Management Leadership for Tomorrow, Modern Guild, Toigo, Seizing Every Opportunity and Project BASTA to continue our efforts of bringing more diverse candidates and experiences into Audax.
The company is dedicated to improving diversity through our hiring and retention practices at all levels of the firm. In addition to addressing workplace diversity and inclusion in firmwide policies, it evaluates a diverse pool of candidates for open positions. Audax also looks to partner with minority or female-owned companies, including recruiting firms.
What results have you achieved?
As we continue to build diversity on our team, we are determining the most effective measures of hiring and retention success. Recent hiring data for Audax Private Debt demonstrates our effectiveness. Since 2019, for the entire Audax Private Debt team, 27 percent of hires have been minorities and 51 percent women. For the Audax Private Debt investment team, 42 percent of hires have been minorities and 55 percent women. As of March 31, 2022, the entire Audax Private Debt team is comprised of 24 percent minorities and 37 percent women and the Audax Private Debt investment team is comprised of 32 percent minorities and 25 percent women.
