Force for Good 2025: Evergreen Champions Women in Leadership

What’s the key to bringing more women into executive roles? Show them what’s possible. Through initiatives to support and attract women like the Women of Evergreen, which brings together women at the holding company and across the operating companies, and an annual women’s summit, Evergreen Services Group¹ has built a firm that’s 51 percent women and growing.²

A Gathering Place for Women in Executive Leadership

When a group of Evergreen leaders set out to elevate women at the firm, they had two goals: Connect female team members for mentorship and support, and increase representation by attracting and hiring more women.

Research shows that women are less likely to apply for the roles if they don’t meet 100 percent of the job criteria.³ So Evergreen added intentional language to job descriptions to encourage more women to apply and ensure that women join each hiring panel, especially for female candidates. They also recruit from women’s groups at colleges and universities, including Stanford’s Women in Business.

Turning Ideas into Action: The Evergreen Women in Leadership Summit

Alex Popke graduated from Stanford in 2022 and joined Evergreen’s M&A team as their first female hire. Since then, the team has grown to 12 people, including six women. Popke came up with the idea for the Evergreen Women in Leadership Summit, and gained support from the women’s group as well as the rest of the company.

“Advocating for myself implicitly by advocating for other women has increased my confidence and sense of belonging in the M&A world,” she says. “I think having a seat at the table is the most important part.”

Showcasing What’s Possible

This January, Evergreen hosted their second annual summit. Their goal remained the same: Attract top female talent early in their careers, give them opportunities to hear about the firm and meet senior leaders, and show how Evergreen is differentiated both in their investment strategy and in their philosophy around talent recruitment and development.

This year’s summit included 20 undergraduates, 15 MBA candidates, 10 operators from Evergreen operating companies and female leaders from the holding company. Organizers carefully recruit and interview an impressive group of undergraduate and MBA candidates, curating a mix of top female talent before sending official invites. Their goal is to foster an environment where participants learn as much from one another as they do from the hosts. The selection panel prioritizes bringing together women with high potential, focusing on intellectual curiosity and a clear excitement for Evergreen’s mission, over simply reviewing past experience. This approach is especially important for undergraduates who may have limited exposure to M&A or private equity-backed portfolio companies.

“We live and breathe empowerment at Evergreen every day,” says Popke. “We want to show women that there is a place for them in the financial world that they can be really excited about. They can achieve all of their ambitious goals and gain financial independence and long-term career growth.”

Summit sessions included a fireside chat with Jana Schmidt, CEO of Pine Services Group, an Evergreen operating company, and an overview from Sydney Hockett, a VP on Evergreen’s sourcing team. From there, participants broke out into workshops—undergraduates worked through an investment thesis case study and Board of Advisors workshop, while MBAs focused on profit and loss (P&L) discipline and building a Personal One Page Plan (OPP).

Evergreen’s Head of People and summit co-organizer Celeste Ryan views the summit as a starting point for creating a ripple effect across Evergreen. As a result of the event, three undergrad women were invited to final round interviews for the Investing Intern program and two were extended offers, while two MBA women were admitted into the executive recruiting process.

“I think we can influence the businesses we acquire and the leaders we hire by sharing what we’ve learned from these women’s initiatives,” says Ryan. “Extending our impact beyond the 40 people at the Evergreen holding company inspires me.”

Summit Testimonials

“It is so empowering to be in a room full of amazing women who are all championing opportunities to propel women in leadership.”

— Madelyn (MBA Attendee, University of Virginia Darden School of Business)

 

“ I’m so grateful to be a part of this fantastic group of women and hope to continue to bring more women and BIPOC folks into the Cedar and Evergreen fold.”

—Taylor (Evergreen Operator, Cedar Solutions Group)

 

“I had the best time learning more about Evergreen, meeting the incredible women on the team and hearing the inspirational stories from those around me. The event left a lasting impression on me, and it will always hold a special place as an incredibly meaningful experience.”

— Sophia (Undergraduate attendee, UVA)

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Case studies presented contain the opinions of past and present Alpine portfolio company executives. Alpine makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the information presented here. It should not be assumed that the portfolio companies discussed in these case studies were profitable or that future portfolio companies or experiences will be comparable. Past performance is not necessarily indicative, or a guarantee, of future results. Under no circumstances should these case studies be construed as an offer to sell, or a solicitation to buy, any security or as opinions regarding the provision of investment advisory services by Alpine. Please see Alpine’s Terms of Use on Alpine’s website for disclosures.

Endnotes

1. As of 12/31/24, Evergreen Services Group’s holding company team had 41 employees.

2. Alpine Funds own controlling positions in holding companies that may be owned by multiple Alpine-controlled funds. These companies may recruit their own staff, use personnel from affiliated entities, or engage other Alpine companies for operational services that may overlap with Investment Manager services. Personnel may serve multiple portfolio companies and work from Investment Manager offices. The Fund will bear its proportional share of costs for maintaining these employment vehicles and services, including compensation, benefits, and overhead expenses. These costs do not offset or reduce any management fees.

3. https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified