Access: Highlights from 2022
A curated selection of the very best interviews and private markets profiles
Hello reader,
Welcome to the 13th edition of Access, and the last one of 2022.
Melissa and I had worked together for nearly five years before we started writing Access. Honestly, I’m not sure I thought that much about it before we launched. I had a clear vision for what this should be, and complete faith in my partnership with Melissa - I knew that somehow, we’d make this work.
As it turns out, publishing a weekly newsletter is not a small commitment. (Somewhere, Melissa is laughing as she reads this). A well-known piece of advice for aspiring writers is to ‘write about what you know’. Instead, we’ve been writing about what - and who - we want to know, which requires a little more research and reading up front.
The upside is that I have gotten to learn about some extraordinary people from our industry. To be able to explore some of the most important topics and trends through their eyes (and words) has been a rare privilege.
This edition features a roundup of our favourite quotes from In Depth articles so far, as well as our usual pick of the best interviews from the past week.
The only thing that remains for me to say is a massive thank you - to Melissa, to our team who have supported us along the way, and to you, our amazing readers.
We’ll be taking a short break over the festive period and look forward to writing again in the new year. Wishing you and your families a restful holiday, hope it’s a memorable one!
Until next time -
Liz & Melissa
In case you missed it…
Access | 012 included interviews with Indiana Jones star, Ke Huy Quan; Guillermo del Toro on the crafts of Pinocchio; and Andrew Ross Sorkin in conversation with Sam Bankman-Fried.
Our In-Depth section featured Megan Starr, the changemaker shaping the future of sustainable investing.
FEATURING:
This week's best interviews
Supermodel Iman on resetting the fashion industry
Daniel Pink in conversation with Josh Wright, discussing the power of regret
Ariana Grande interviews Jennifer Coolidge as they reflect on the White Lotus star’s incredible 2022
An end of year round-up of our favourite quotes from In-Depth in 2022
IN BRIEF
“I’m done with a seat at the table. Let’s just dismantle the whole table.”
Supermodel, activist, actor, entrepreneur and executive producer: Iman, talks to Funmi Fetto at Vogue about life, love, and changing the fashion industry.
***
“When people are young, they have roughly equal numbers of regrets of action (what they did) and regrets of inaction (what they didn’t do). But as we age, the inaction regrets take over.”
Author Daniel Pink, author of The Power of Regret, sits down for a conversation with Josh Wright.
[How looking backwards moves us forward]
***
“I just wanna do one where I do a back handspring off the ladder.”
Ariana Grande interviews Jennifer Coolidge as they reflect on the White Lotus star’s incredible 2022.
[EW's 2022 Entertainers of the Year]
Job opportunities in Private Capital
Hertalis works with finance, operations and technology professionals, helping to connect them to the best private markets opportunities.
Here’s a selection of roles that our clients are hiring for:
Global consulting firm looking to hire qualified audit professionals to lead operational improvement projects for private equity clients. (London, hybrid)
Leading private equity firm seeking portfolio monitoring specialist for brand new middle office role driving innovation in technology (London, hybrid)
ESG software provider hiring experienced pre-sales consultant for client-facing role (UK, hybrid).
If you're thinking about your next role and would like to talk through your options, please feel free to reach out; we're happy to chat so we know what to keep an eye out for.
IN-DEPTH: 2022 HIGHLIGHTS
Featuring Wol Kolade, Megan Starr, Robin Saluoks and more.
Wol Kolade is the straight-talking private equity veteran who’s looking to level the playing field.
On diversity in private equity
“When I joined back in 1993 there were two black people, including myself, in the entire UK industry. Today, there are still very few black people in private equity in senior positions. During the last couple of years, it’s got a lot better, but we've still got a long way to go.”
On leadership
“The job of a leader is making sure that everyone has the best chance to do their job really well. It's not about ego or having all the answers.”
“I am utterly fascinated by the world of business and PE gives me the privilege of being able to interact with some of the UK’s best and brightest business people.”
On diverse thinking
“People understand the richness and power of diversity and inclusion and that it’s a positive thing rather than something you ‘have to do’. It’s a positive benefit; diverse thinking creates better solutions.”
***
Kim Lew is the Lifetime Achievement award winner who's only just getting started.
On diverse ideas
“I strongly believe that outperformance will be driven by diverse and creative investing ideas that are generated from people with unique experiences. We are not increasing diversity because it is the fair thing to do (although it is); we are doing it because, over time, it will be required to continue to produce the highest risk-adjusted return.”
On growth
“We have to give ourselves permission to not be perfect because if you don’t, you won’t try hard things. I tell my daughters all the time you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable because the really good stuff happens on the other side of that discomfort.”
“People need to see things from different perspectives for us to be really good at what we do. The world is changing, we have to invest globally in order to be effective, and we have to understand how all the parts work together.”
On innovative technology
“I think I’m most optimistic about technology and how technology is solving so many of the world’s problems. I do believe we’re going to see solutions to the climate issue. I do believe there are going to be solutions to lots of medical issues – the biotech field is awash with wonderful opportunities and brilliant people solving problems.”
***
Robin Saluoks is the AgriTech entrepreneur pioneering innovative technology for sustainable farming.
On innovating farming
“From developments in indoor farming systems, smart sensors, soil testing, autonomous vehicles, alternative feed supplies, and soil sequestration to name but a few, our extremely traditional and low-tech industry is now a hotbed for innovation like no other.”
On building a successful team
“The best way to ensure you don’t get ahead of yourself is to build a leadership team made up of people with different backgrounds, skills and personality traits… You need strategists, planners, analytical minds, dreamers and doers who come in all shapes and sizes. However, the important thing is that they share the same values. With such a team, business expansion is off to a flying start.”
“We are at the start of a complete reimagining of how business should work for society, the environment, and the world as a whole.”
On corporate sustainability
“Even if your business is not closely aligned to addressing climate change, thinking green across all business functions is a must today… Out of sight cannot mean out of mind. Building a sustainable supply chain is time consuming, but that's nothing compared to retrofitting it later down the line. Just ask any large enterprise scrambling to reach NetZero and meet ESG goals.”
***
Megan Starr is the 2022 PEI changemaker shaping the future of sustainable investing.
On getting serious about ESG
“In its early days, when people thought about ESG or whatever they termed it, they were like, that's feel-good investing or fuzzy math. ‘How can you possibly make money when you're busy thinking about carbon emissions for people?’ The world has flipped, where we realise that companies are thinking about engaged, safe, productive workforces, that companies that are in the forefront of the energy transition, they're outperforming.”
On creating impact
“I think what we're seeing now is that the kind of next phase, of saying - actually, how can you invest in companies that maybe don't have great environmental or social dimensions, improve those and that's actually the kind of activism thesis of improving those companies into the higher multiples."
“We're in the early innings of [ESG] being recognised as a major discipline, and now we'll sort through who's actually doing it well versus who's putting in a pitch deck because they think people want to see that.”
On defining sustainability
“I think we have potentially some misconceptions about the word sustainable in the US. You hear that, and you think people wearing Birkenstocks and dancing around a campfire. [Yet] sustainability means - literally - the ability to persist over time. And that’s what we’re looking for.”
***
Sherrese Clarke Soares is the founder and CEO investing in entertainment intellectual content.
On creating lasting change
“There are so many places where one could look to find opportunities for progress and change. I’m under no illusion that I can change the world myself, but I’m happy to be part of it. I care deeply about giving back and anything I do will have an element of being present in our communities.”
On investing in content
“The world of institutional investors are waking up to the ability for content to be the linchpin, to be the tip of the spear to actually drive outcomes.”
“I believe in the power and the impact of what content does. You know, obviously, it brings stories across the world and has the ability to shape hearts and minds.”
On supporting the next generation
“I’ve been very fortunate over the years to basically have exposure to people who have built great businesses, who have seen lots of things, seen lots of different points of adversity, but also made way, made time to pour back into me. And so we think it’s responsible for us to pour back into others too.”
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