Inspiring New Career Paths for Young Women Through Alpine Investors’ Future Female Leaders Summit 2024

Last month, we concluded our 2024 Future Female Leaders Summit, a mentorship program for undergraduate students that culminated in an in-person summit at Alpine Investors’ San Francisco headquarters. As found in an August 2023 report on diversity in the private markets by McKinsey & Company, women hold only 33% of entry-level investing roles and 44% of operating roles in private equity. The same report found that women who identify as ethnic and racial minorities were the least represented group among investment professionals across all seniority levels in private equity. In recognizing the need to proactively engage with and inspire diverse talent towards long-term careers in private equity, we created this program to enable young professionals to experience mentorship from experts in the industry, along with specialized learning and development opportunities.

The idea for this program spun out of our Women on Investing employee resource group, where the team brainstormed ways to aid women looking to break into the industry. In the spirit of bridging connections, program participants received 1:1 coaching and mentorship with women across the Alpine team for three weeks, learning key concepts integral to the industry. Each week focused on a different topic, including the foundations of private equity, technical investing practices, and interviewing best practices.

“For me, I loved the broader impact of helping these 23 talented young women build connections and relationships that are going to be important for their careers, Alpine-related or not,” said program organizer and Internal Operations Lead Micaela Keller.

Participants of the 2024 Future Female Leaders Summit at Alpine Investors’ San Francisco headquarters.

The formal mentorship concluded in a capstone summit, where participants heard from Alpine Partners and senior leaders in candid panel conversations about their careers and the importance of mentoring young female leaders in finance. The panels also gave visibility to the different leadership paths one can take within the industry.

“The top bright spots for me throughout the program were the invaluable opportunities to meet and connect with a diverse group of individuals at Alpine, gaining insightful perspectives into various roles within the industry and the enriching experience of learning from empowering women leaders in finance,” said Annie Huang, a program participant.

Summit participants heard from Alpine senior leadership, including Partner Haley Van Cleve and AOG Chief Talent Officer Tal Lee Anderman (right) and President Mark Strauch and Founding Partner Billy Maguy (left).

“Part of creating diverse teams is exposing people to possibilities,” said Alpine Partner Haley Van Cleve. “I didn’t originally consider a career in private equity when I was in undergrad, but it was through exposure to the industry that I did. I’m so thankful for that opportunity, and I look forward to paying it forward alongside the firm.”

In spirit of our firm’s value of diversity and inclusion, we look forward to continuing our work in providing opportunities and creating an environment for a diversity of future leaders to thrive and grow with the firm long-term.

Interested in learning more about working at Alpine? Visit our careers page here. Upcoming applications for our 2025 summer internship will be available March 1st, 2024.