Celebrating Women in Canadian Private Capital: Highlights from the Inaugural Awards Ceremony

Today, CVCA announced the winners of the inaugural Canadian Women in Private Capital Awards, which recognize the exceptional contributions of women in the Canadian private capital industry. These awards celebrate the achievements of women who have demonstrated a dedication to professional excellence, raised the bar for performance, and contributed significantly to improving gender diversity in the industry and beyond. 

Earlier today, CIBC Innovation sponsored a reception event to honour the exceptional contributions of women in the Canadian private capital industry. At the event, the award winners shared their valuable perspectives on the progress made toward equity in the VC and PE ecosystem. Here are some highlights from their insightful discussions.

Lisa Melchior, Founder and Managing Partner, Vertu Capital — 2023 Woman of Achievement Award Recipient (PE)

What do you see as some of the most significant progress that has been made in terms of equity in the VC and PE ecosystem in recent years? 

The most significant progress has been in shining a spotlight on this issue. Most people would now acknowledge the serious disproportionate representation in senior levels across the VC and PE industry. It is an important start because, with focus and attention, change can happen. 

What would you say to women and underrepresented groups to encourage considering a career in venture capital and private equity? 

Go for it because this is an incredibly rewarding career! If you are intellectually curious and like digging in to learn about what makes a company, product, or industry work, this is the spot for you. You may not know many people like you who have pursued careers in this sector because the private equity industry is relatively young, having started in the ​‘80s, and will continue to grow and evolve. I’m convinced that it will thrive with new talent that brings diverse perspectives to the table. 

What do you envision as the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the overall business community and society, and what actions do you believe can be taken by individuals and organizations to drive this progress forward? 

I envision a time when conversations like this are redundant because representation of people in business reflects society at large. Not enough progress has been made over my 25-year career and I hope progress can accelerate from here. It will take the collective action of everyone in the community to engage in order to drive change. Specifically, we need the leaders of organizations to set the right tone from the top; they need to focus on recruiting, supporting, and promoting diverse talent to get that flywheel going. It’s also important that all young people see these careers as open to them. I believe we need to start introducing these options as early as high school to plant the seeds of career potential. 

Whitney Rockley, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, McRock Capital – 2023 Woman of Achievement Award Recipient (VC)

What do you see as some of the most significant progress that has been made in terms of equity in the VC and PE ecosystem in recent years? 

Our industry is much more aware of the importance of gender equity. This has been done through the work at the CVCA and with specific GPs. Examples include the CVCA’s semi-annual diversity report that is based on GP feedback, the CVCA’s diversity resource library, and the incorporation of DEI in the CVCA’s annual conference, to name a few. LPs are also requesting that GPs report broad DEI and ESG metrics, which is important to establish baselines and benchmarks. GPs also do a fair bit of work with their portfolio companies to ensure equity at the senior level and are hiring from a much more diverse talent pool. Some GPs have built up a library of interesting blogs, vblogs, and social media posts on DEI, which helps increase awareness. 

From my lens, I see more women and underrepresented groups enter the private capital sector than ever before. In my opinion, this is because of all the work we are doing above. 

Finally, we/​McRock have been doing diversity and inclusion surveys with our portfolio companies and talking to groups like Diversio on what they are seeing by way of change, and it is very clear that women and underrepresented groups feel like they are in safer workplaces free of harassment and discrimination. This has been partially driven by the pandemic and a hybrid work environment, but it is also due to the work our industry has done over the years pre-pandemic.

What would you say to women and underrepresented groups to encourage considering a career in venture capital and private equity? 

There is no better time than today to start a career in private capital. Go for it. 

What do you envision as the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the overall business community and society, and what actions do you believe can be taken by individuals and organizations to drive this progress forward? 

I hope we can all see the benefits of embracing DEI. It’s no longer a discussion of why but it is incorporated into everything we do.

And wouldn’t it be amazing to imagine an equal world for all. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. How? By taking one small action today – putting that stranded starfish on the beach back in the water:

• Reduce unconscious bias in hiring.
• Promote inclusive events at your firms.
• Ensure your firm and portfolio companies are recruiting from the broadest talent base they can.

Kristin Smith, Principal, Novacap – 2023 Rising Woman Star Award Recipient (PE)

What do you see as some of the most significant progress that has been made in terms of equity in the VC and PE ecosystem in recent years? 

The state of diversity looks brighter today than it did five years ago, with entry levels roles in PE approaching equity in general. The challenge remains in attracting talent to private equity and ensuring that underrepresented students in finance are aware of private equity when they may often choose careers in the more mature industries such as banking or accounting. I didn’t even know what Private Equity was when I graduated with my Bachelor of Commerce at McGill. 

Today the increased effort by groups like the CVCA and the GP and LP communities on educating, supporting, and recruiting diverse candidates is having a difference that can be seen when you look at diversity statistics at the junior ranks and, albeit much more slowly, at the senior ranks as well. 

In order to capture talent early in the process, we are working very closely with universities, an example of this is establishing the Novacap bursary for women in finance. This is a $200k initiative in its second year and includes a paid summer internship for underrepresented students to introduce them to the world of PE. The community, including Novacap, is taking concrete steps to improve. Steps like ensuring we are recruiting from a pool of diverse candidates, mentoring all employees, and reviewing pay equity are some of the initiatives having a real difference. That being said, it takes time and the fact that there are still so many people struggling to recruit qualified diverse candidates and the fact that most PE and VC partner groups are still not very diverse means this is a complicated topic that we need to continue to seriously work on.

What would you say to women and underrepresented groups to encourage considering a career in venture capital and private equity? 

I would say, firstly, that private equity is an incredible career. It’s interesting and challenging and you’re always learning something new. You get to work with some of the smartest people out there, the CEOs and senior executives at portfolio companies as well as the professionals who are attracted to a career like PE. For women and underrepresented groups, if you are considering PE I would 100% recommend it.

For women and underrepresented groups trying to get in I would offer a few observations and pieces of advice while acknowledging this is from my own personal experience which may be very different than other women or underrepresented groups:

Firstly – getting the job generally requires more effort than answering an ad or a recruiter call. One personal experience that I’ve had, is that many jobs are never posted online, which may be harder for underrepresented groups who may not have as many relationships with existing PE or VC funds. Four of the six jobs I’ve gotten post-university were not through online job ads but through proactive networking and reach outs. Novacap for example was a cold call. I was working as an investment banker and we had shown Novacap some deals; however, I didn’t know anyone well at the firm. I wanted to move back to Canada, I had been working in the technology sector and one of the partners at Novacap agreed to have a coffee with me. In the end, it turned out they were hiring, and I ended up getting the job. So, one piece of advice is not to underestimate the importance of networking and being proactive.

Secondly – building relationships is important. At the end of the day, PE is in many ways about relationships both internally and externally, and you need to invest in them. I have found it has taken some extra effort on my part to build relationships as a woman. More than once I’ve been left off the invite list for the golf game, poker tournament, fantasy league, charity boxing match, or hockey game when my peers were all invited. Whether or not you want to go to these types of events, you have to find your own way of building relationships. There are also networking groups out there focused on women and underrepresented groups that are amazing ways to connect with people. At the same time, as employers, we need to put in more effort with underrepresented groups.

Lastly – own making it work. I love that balance is no longer a topic focused solely on women because many people, in particular post-COVID, are seeking more balance and I believe that is helpful for DEI. We see it in our need to retain our top talent and at Novacap. We have made a significant effort to eliminate most work on weekends and it has had little, if any, impact on our business. At the end of the day, it is very possible to have a personal life and a career in PE and any smart PE firm is going to support employees seeking balance because they are playing the long game with their people. For me, a few helpful things: 

1. Outsource whatever you can so you aren’t doing laundry all weekend when you can focus on family or other activities you are passionate about.

2. Showing up at 120% when you need to will buy you years of goodwill. When people know they can rely on you in tough or busy times, they won’t think twice if you want to take your kids to soccer or pick them up from school, etc.

3. If you love your job, believe that you can make it work. I always told myself that if it wasn’t working, I’d leave. At the end of the day, for me, it worked. As you get more senior, you have more flexibility and I see so many people leave in anticipation it won’t work but it just might.

What do you envision as the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the overall business community and society, and what actions do you believe can be taken by individuals and organizations to drive this progress forward? 

Today, institutional investors ask GPs to prioritize gender representation, as it has been proven that diverse perspectives offer significant value. McKinsey in its state of diversity report for private markets in 2022 found that Chief Investment Officers of leading institutional investors said they would allocate twice as much capital to the more gender-diverse PE firm if choosing between two otherwise comparable firms. More ethnically and racially diverse PE deal teams would receive 2.6 times as much capital. I think this is a concrete incentive for GPs to put mechanisms in place that favor inclusivity. 

In the future, I believe we will see more DD questionnaires evaluating GPs on how representative they are of the populations where they operate, and laggards that didn’t prioritize developing their talent to have underrepresented groups in leadership positions will face direct consequences in their fund’s bottom line. 

As for what individuals and organizations can do, I believe strongly that the inclusion of all leaders meaningfully in the discussion is important. I have attended a number of women’s and diversity summits, however, when most senior leadership positions are not held by underrepresented groups, it’s hard to progress things forward without their active participation and understanding. I believe that we would make a lot more progress if all senior leaders were meaningfully involved in these types of conversations to ensure they fully understand the experience of underrepresented groups. Many leaders are supportive of the effort to include more diverse candidates in the hiring process; however, this is a complex issue and that is only one small piece of the puzzle. 

As individuals and organizations, one of the biggest impacts we can have is ensuring those junior and mid-level folks’ progress. Making the extra effort to mentor someone who doesn’t look like you or share your background, but who has worked hard and deserves it can have a massive impact. Personally, Pascal, our CEO has ensured that I am being mentored, and, to the credit of the people mentoring me, they have done an amazing job. I have seen the impact on my own career, and I am passionate about being able to do the same. Mentoring and championing someone takes effort, and it makes such a huge difference. 

Courtney Cooper, Principal, Alate Partners — 2023 Rising Woman Star Award Recipient (VC)

What do you see as some of the most significant progress that has been made in terms of equity in the VC and PE ecosystem in recent years?

When I started in venture in 2018, Nabeela Merchant and a group of associates had recently launched what is now Canadian Women in Venture. Today, this is a group of 500 women across the country, representing nearly every venture firm in Canada. It is inspiring to see so many women joining the industry, gaining seniority, and supporting one another. While there is still a meaningful lack of women at the partner level, funds have built a strong pipeline of talent and I am confident we’ll see this change at an accelerating rate. 

What would you say to women and underrepresented groups to encourage considering a career in venture capital and private equity?

The venture industry has made strides to become more inclusive, but we still need more people from diverse backgrounds to join and launch funds. If you are considering venture or private equity as a career path, there are more resources and allies than ever – from dedicated fellowships and training programs to new allocations from Limited Partners for diverse managers and strategies.

What do you envision as the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the overall business community and society, and what actions do you believe can be taken by individuals and organizations to drive this progress forward?

In our industry, we can have the highest impact by increasing diversity within our funds and within our portfolio. You can’t find great people or great deals if you don’t know them, and great people know one another. That’s why we start by focusing on our pipeline and proactively connecting with existing groups and individuals within diverse communities, including hiring from the CVCA BIPOC internship program and collaborating with funds and accelerators focused on under-represented groups.

—
It’s clear that the journey to achieving equity and diversity in the VC and PE industry requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders, and while there is still work to be done, it’s important to recognize that much groundwork has been laid to set the foundation for success. From increased awareness and education around issues of bias and systemic inequality to the creation of new funding models and networks that prioritize underrepresented founders and teams, there are many initiatives underway that are helping to shift the paradigm and providing an equal opportunity to succeed in this dynamic and exciting field.

It’s inspiring to see the progress being made towards greater equity and diversity in the private capital industry, and we congratulate Whitney Rockley, Lisa Melchior, Courtney Cooper, and Kristin Smith on their well-deserved recognition as winners of the inaugural Canadian Women in Private Capital Awards. Their leadership and contributions to the industry serve as a reminder that by empowering women and underrepresented groups, we can create a more vibrant and inclusive business community that benefits us all. We look forward to seeing more progress and innovation in the years to come.