Women in the private markets are leading the way on authenticity

When Joan Solotar, Blackstone’s Global Head of Private Wealth Solutions, landed on Wall Street decades ago, she didn't give much thought to the fact that all her colleagues were male. "It wasn't until later in my career that I would walk into a room and think, 'Why aren't there other women in here?'" she said in a recent conversation with Juniper Square.

In 2013, Solotar addressed that question in "Truths for Our Daughters" in the Harvard Business Review. The widely shared piece resonated due to the honesty and clarity of her advice: Don't pretend to know everything; be comfortable being uncomfortable; you won't feel 100% successful at work and home; be confident anyway. The article drew its power from authenticity.

Solotar took the same approach to LinkedIn, where over 25,000 connections now hang on her every word. "I wanted it to be authentic," she said of her LinkedIn philosophy. "I wanted people to get a sense of me as a person in addition to me as a Blackstone professional."

Research has shown that firms with diverse leadership outperform non-diverse firms, yet women occupy just 15% of managing-director-level roles in private markets. But Solotar's advice is resonating. In recent conversations with Juniper Square, women leaders in private markets have explained how embracing their authentic selves at work has benefited their careers—and their firms' success.

Many private markets firms strive for increased authenticity to improve investor relationships and build enterprise value.

For Molly Bordonaro, Managing Partner of The Green Cities Company, authenticity has been a key strategy in becoming one of the leading ESG development companies on the West Coast.

“There's been a lot of movement in the marketplace toward claiming that you’re net zero by just talking about your corporate headquarters and how you are doing it with carbon offsets,” she told Juniper Square. “We're very authentic, focusing on reducing carbon emissions all the way through to the materials that you're bringing into the building. We have a team that spends all their time on that.”

This happens through transparent, honest communication with investors—the G of ESG. The fact that this communication comes from a team that embodies the S of ESG adds to their credibility.

“We’re a minority- and woman-owned business,” Bordonaro added. “Our whole DNA is focused around understanding the impact of and importance of diversity, not only through our corporate structure, but how we demonstrate value at the property level.”

Having diverse leadership plays a critical role in authenticity credibility as increasingly diverse investors look to those they can relate to in the industry. As women invest more than ever, for example, research shows that women prefer investment advice from or influenced by other women.

Relationships continue to drive investor decisions. In a survey of investors’ 2024 plans, 59% of respondents stated intentions to re-up current GP relationships. Maintaining established relationships with fund managers ranked second among investors’ top drivers of sector investment. Harvard Business Review research also found that women leaders outscored men in building business relationships by more than three percentage points.

Clearly articulating a firm's authentic values and identity is one way Deborah Smith, Co-founder and CEO of boutique investment bank CenterCap Group, seeds those relationships.

"What's your story?" she asked in a conversation with Juniper Square. "It's striking how many owners, operators, and managers do not have a good answer. They've relied on a strong track record, but if you take it away, what do you stand on, and how do you explain it?"

When a firm communicates authentically, Smith explained, "An investor can feel connected to the story and can tell who you are. And it's a lot harder than it sounds."

What happens between entry-level PE roles, where women comprise 33% of employees, and managing-director-level roles, where their numbers dwindle to 15%?

Meghan Reynolds, Partner and Head of Capital Formation & Talent at Altimeter Capital Management, gave Juniper Square a simple answer: Life happens. "When you introduce the complexities of having children in this incredibly demanding industry, it gets hard," she noted.

Firms that build workplaces where women's perspectives and the practical demands of their lives are respected enable women to lead with authenticity. In the absence of such support, Solotar's "Truths for Our Daughters" urged women to take the reins: "Draw lines in the sand," she wrote. "No one will thank you for not having a life outside of work, never taking vacation." But, she continued, defending a fulfilling personal life is essential.

Are women leaders better at authenticity? While it's a difficult metric to assess quantitatively, it's a clear strength among senior women in private markets today. And a nice thing about authenticity is that it can be contagious, which benefits the entire firm.

Ilene Goldfine, Chief Digital Strategy Officer at Hines, told Juniper Square she has seen the trend spread herself: "For years, especially in the real estate industry, it was, 'Don't talk about where you come from and who you are. Don't bring pictures of your kids.' A lot of that's changed now."

This invitation to be authentic encourages all forms of diversity within firms. It also enables the very dynamic that connects diversity to business benefits—pulling from a broader range of ideas and perspectives. "We need to learn from other people who don't look like us, who don't sound like us, who don't come from the same background," Goldfine said. "The way to create change is talking to people about who they are."

Want more insights from women leaders in private markets? Read Juniper Square's conversations with Alexandra Nussenbaum of Rivo Alto and Katie Riester of Felicis.