New York, NY; May 22, 2019 – Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN), the pre-eminent organization for senior-level women investment professionals in private equity, has announced the winners of its 2019 awards. The awards were presented at PEWIN’s 11th Annual All Members Meeting in San Francisco, California on May 22, 2019.
The PEWIN annual awards program recognizes outstanding organizations who are transforming the private equity industry by supporting increased gender diversity in three categories: Women-Owned Firm, Limited Partner and General Partner. The firms are nominated by PEWIN membership and voted by the PEWIN Steering Committee.
Kelly Williams, Founding Chair and co-CEO of PEWIN said of the awards, “PEWIN is so pleased to recognize Luminate Capital, 1315 Capital, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and The Riverside Company, each of whom are leading by example in their support, promotion and amplification of the outstanding women investors who exist in the private equity industry. Through the efforts of each of these firms, it is our hope that the amount of assets under management by women in the industry will continue to increase, as they demonstrate the outstanding returns achieved by women investors.”
Women-Owned Firm of the Year
An award given to firms that are majority-owned by a woman or women and manage third party capital. Two women-owned firms are sharing this honor this year: 1315 Capital and Luminate Capital.
1315 Capital
“We are grateful to the members of PEWIN for the support we have received since the inception of 1315 Capital. Our focus from the very beginning has been on providing expansion and growth capital to healthcare companies, and we now have over $500 million under management across two funds. PEWIN’s Project Pinklight formalizes aspects of the support and guidance that was instrumental in getting 1315 Capital off the ground.”
Luminate Capital Partners
“Our team at Luminate is working hard to establish our firm as a leader in the software private equity market and deliver returns for our investors,” commented Hollie Haynes, Founder and Managing Partner. “We have been honored to have the help and support of a tremendous group of early supporters from the Limited Partner community including members of PEWin.”
LP of the Year Award
An award given to an institutional limited partner who has demonstrated commitment to encouraging and supporting female investors in the private equity industry. The recipient of the 2019 LP of the Year award is the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
Teachers Retirement System of Texas
“Teacher Retirement System of Texas is thrilled to receive PEWIN’s LP of the Year Award. TRS takes great pride incorporating diversity & inclusion initiatives into all touchpoints of our investment and cultural strategies. This is exemplified through the increasing number of women-owned firms involved in TRS’ Emerging Manager Program, now at 12 managers. Furthermore, TRS also has over $2 Billion committed in Real Estate to the woman-owned Banner Oak Capital Partners,” commented CIO Jerry Albright.
“Internally, TRS also benefits the talents of the next generation of female leaders throughout our Private Markets programs which put the focus on TRS as a partner of choice. Some highlights of our success in this area include senior women on Private Equity and Real Estate Teams. Furthermore, TRS has a woman leading the Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure portfolio and Special Opportunities portfolio. It also should be noted that the past two recipients of TRS’ internal Investor of the Year have been women. Thank you for recognizing TRS’ commitment as top contributing LP.”
GP of the Year Award
An award given to a private equity firm that has demonstrated a commitment to advancement of women in the industry through its own internal practices as well as through its investment portfolio. The recipient of the 2019 GP of the Year award is The Riverside Company.
The Riverside Company
“We’re proud of the leadership role that women play within our firm and our industry,” said The Riverside Company Co-CEO Stewart Kohl. “We’re convinced that we are a better firm because of it. We embrace diversity and inclusion in all forms both within Riverside and at our portfolio companies because we know it significantly enhances our core mission of value creation.”
Four PEWIN Women Raise a Total of $1.5 Billion for their Respective Funds
New York The Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN), the pre-eminent organization for senior-level women investment professionals in private equity, announces that PEWIN Members – Adele Oliva (1315 Capital), Hollie Haynes (Luminate Capital Partners), Kristina Heinze (ParkerGale) and Kate Mitchell (Scale Venture Partners) – have each successfully closed a new fund.
“When we launched PEWIN over a decade ago, certain business magazines claimed that there were only four top women working in private equity. We set out to create an organization to help change this dynamic and this perception,” explained Kelly Williams, the Founder, Co-CEO, and Chairman of PEWIN. Today, PEWIN is a global organization with over 600 members representing institutions with over $2.5 trillion in assets under management. Supporting diversity has become increasingly critical in private equity and venture capital as studies show that diverse-owned private equity firms outperform their relevant benchmarks.
“We are so proud of Adele, Hollie, Kristina, and Kate, who have all each successfully raised multiple funds. These incredible women have led the charge of change, setting an example for our membership and the industry of what can be accomplished,” said Krista Hatcher, PEWIN President.
Given that nine out of ten fund managers are male according to Morningstar, these successes represent notable progress and are representative of the talent of the 600+ PEWIN members around the world.
PEWIN Steering Committee member Adele Oliva, is a Founding Partner of 1315 Capital, LLC, an expansion and growth equity firm that invests in commercial-stage medical technology, healthcare service, and specialty pharmaceutical companies. 1315 Capital raised over $300 million for its second fund, bringing total assets under management to $500 million. Adele commented, “Over the last decade as an active member of PEWIN and attending the Women’s Private Equity Summit, I had the opportunity to build deep relationships with limited partners and general partners. Their advice and guidance were invaluable in the founding of 1315 Capital.”
PEWIN member Hollie Haynes is the Founder and Managing Partner of San Francisco-based Luminate Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests in growing enterprise software companies. Luminate successfully raised $430 million for its second fund and now manages over $700 million. We are very pleased with the investor response to Fund II which exceeded our expectations,” Holly commented. The new fund was much easier to raise than the first, which, she said, took nearly three years and 500 LP meetings.
PEWIN Events Committee member and Partner Kristina Heinze is a founding member of the Chicago-based private equity firm ParkerGale, LLC, which focuses on investing in profitable, founder-owned technology companies and corporate carve-outs. ParkerGale closed its second fund at $375 million, exceeding the original target of $300 million, and now manages over $600 million. Kristina commented, “The overwhelming interest we received for the fund is a satisfying recognition of what we are building here at ParkerGale. We are excited to start looking for new companies to add to the ParkerGale family over the next few years.”
PEWIN’s Co-CEO and Vice Chair and Co-Founder of the Silicon Valley-based firm Scale Venture Partners Kate Mitchell invests in software companies that are looking to scale. Scale Ventures raised its sixth fund and has backed successful, high growth companies, including ExactTarget (Salesforce), DocuSign, RingCentral (NYSE: RNG), and Box (NYSE: BOX). According to Kate, “Fund VI is a $400 million fund that will continue our strategy of investing in software companies that are creating the future of work”. Founded in 2000, Scale Venture has more than $1 billion under management.
PEWIN Launches Boston Chapter
Boston – The Private Equity Women Investment Network (PEWIN), a membership organization for senior women leaders in private equity dedicated to advancing diversity and forming business relationships among women investors in the private equity industry, held the inaugural event for its new Boston Chapter on November 1.
The more than 40 guests included senior women investors from across New England, representing a good mix of both General Partners across private equity strategies and Limited Partners from endowments, pensions, fund of funds, consultant gatekeepers, wealth managers and other organizations. PEWIN hosts numerous member events each year globally, which focus on networking and education for its members. PEWIN also actively supports women-oriented causes and organizations, particularly in the field of finance. The PEWIN Boston Chapter co-chairs are Geraldine Alias, Portfolio Manager at Choate Investment Advisors, and Sarah Samuels, Managing Director at Wellesley College.
To launch this new Chapter, Kelly Williams, Chair and CEO of PEWIN, joined the event to discuss the mission, growth and success of the organization over the past ten years. She commented “we are excited to welcome our colleagues from Boston to PEWIN. The growth of the organization over the past 10 years evidences the deep desire of women leaders in our industry to come together and support each other and continue to encourage women to seek careers in Private Equity.”
Founded in 2008, PEWIN has grown substantially over the past decade and today has nearly 600 members around the world committed to expanding opportunities for senior women in Private Equity to network and find ways of doing business together, with the goal of attracting and keeping women in the industry. Members are Managing Directors, Partners, or in roles of similar responsibility at their respective firms. With the opening of the Boston Chapter, PEWIN now has a presence in 10 locations across the United States, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
PEWIN Marks 10-year Anniversary with Award Ceremony in New York
New York, New York — The Private Equity Women Investment Network (PEWIN), a membership organization for senior women leaders in private equity dedicated to advancing diversity and forming business relationships among women investors in the private equity industry, held its 10th anniversary all members meeting in New York.
As part of the celebration, PEWIN hosted its annual signature panel of female Chief Investment Officers from The Carnegie Corporation, New York University, Trinity Wall Street and Mercy Health, who shared insights into their investment strategies and priorities for their respective private equity portfolios. The sold out event included over 100 senior women who came together to celebrate this important milestone anniversary for PEWIN.
In her opening remarks, Kelly Williams, Chair and CEO of PEWIN, said that the organization has grown dramatically over the past 10 years and now has approximately 550 members globally, who are committed to expanding the amount of capital under control of women-led managers. “PEWIN members include the some of the most influential thought leaders in the private equity industry and we are encouraged to see our membership grow every year. PEWIN has chapters throughout the US, Asia, Europe and Africa and we have hosted 27 events in the past year. PEWIN is so pleased to provide a forum and platform for thought provoking discussions among the most senior women investors in the industry.” Williams also announced that Kate Mitchell had agreed to take on the role of Vice Chair and Co-CEO of PEWIN effectively immediately. The two will work closely together to continue to chart the path for the organization.
A number of private equity firms participated in recognizing PEWIN on this auspicious occasion, including TPG, KKR, The Carlyle Group, Kayne Anderson, The Riverside Companies, Blackstone, Providence Equity, W Capital, Welsh Carson and SilverLake. PEWIN capped off the evening by presenting awards to outstanding women who are transforming the private equity industry by supporting increased diversity. Awards were given in the category of Limited Partner, Women- owned General Partner and General Partner, each of whom were recognized for working to advance women in the industry. The Limited Partner award went to each of The Carnegie Corporation of New York and Maryland State Retirement System. Avante Mezzanine Partners was recognized in the women-owned category and Scale Venture Partners was recognized in the General Partner category. The PEWIN visionary award was presented to Kelly Williams for her leadership of PEWIN and her commitment to increasing the profile of women in the industry.
Speaking at the reception, Eileen Mancera Senior Managing Director at Kayne Anderson, encouraged PEWIN members continue prying open the door of opportunity for the next generation of women in the industry, saying “we have been trailblazers, clearing the path for so many other women in finance. it has been a tremendous ten years and the time is now to double down on women for the next ten.” At the event, PEWIN announced a new mentorship and education partnership with Girls Who Invest to help advance the shared goal of having 30% of the world’s investable capital managed by women by 2030.
PEWIN Expands its Africa Presence to Nigeria
The Private Equity Women Investor Network, a global networking organization for senior women in private equity, with chapters in the US, Europe, Africa and Asia, has now expanded to Nigeria, following the formal launch of PEWIN Africa earlier in the year, in South Africa.
The invitation-only members organization, which was founded in 2007 in the United States, has been expanding internationally, opening London and Hong Kong chapters in 2015 in its first international expansion move. Future expansion on the continent will include Cote d’Ivoire and Kenya.
On 10 November 2016, PEWIN hosted an Africa Institutional Investor Roundtable in Lagos, Nigeria. This event was attended by nearly 30 senior women investors representing pension fund administrators, fund managers, development finance institutions, insurance companies and other stakeholders focused on private equity. The purpose of the event was to bring into focus the role of private equity, not only as a developmental tool for the country at large, but also for women in Nigeria.
The theme of the roundtable discussion was, “Will Private Equity Save Nigeria?” and speakers included Mrs. Titi Lawani, CEO of Progress Trust CPFA, Ms. Eme Essien, Country Head IFC, Ms. Abimbola Sulaiman, Head of Investments, PAL Pensions PFA and Mrs. Ijeoma Agboti-Obatoyinbo, a senior private equity advisor.
PEWIN’s expansion in Africa comes as the investment management and private equity industries are increasing their focus on how to boost the number of women working in the industry, which is one of the most male-dominated areas of financial services. The recently published McKinsey Women Matter Report also underscores this point on gender diversity in the workplace in Africa. According to the report, women are under-represented at every level of the corporate ladder, and fall in number the higher they climb as only 5% of women make it to the top.
Kelly Williams, Chair of PEWIN states, “It’s so rare that you interact or see a woman across the table from you on a daily basis. So we have to create these events. There is a real pent-up demand for women to have other women to talk to, to share their experience with, to do business with. We have seen a great response wherever we go.”
Joanne Yoo, Co-Chair of PEWIN Africa and MD of CBO Investment Management states, “This event has taken place at a critical inflection in Nigeria where PE can truly play an important role in mobilizing long term capital into local businesses. We have observed that are many women in senior decision making roles who have the ability to make significant impact on the Nigerian economy.” This theme is also reflected in a recent piece published by the Financial Times and coauthored by PEWIN members, Aubrey Hruby and Joanne Yoo, titled “The Missing Middle in African Private Equity”.
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