Left to right: Carolyn Crooks, Jackie Krese, Ann Chung, Ansley White, Leila Barbour.
As many women working in the finance industry are advancing in their careers to assume leadership roles, they are still facing a host of unique challenges. For female UVA students interested in pursuing one of many professional avenues available in finance, questions remain.
To offer clarity on the subject, the McIntire School welcomes a panel of distinguished UVA alumnae representing various firms and career stages in the financial services industry to Rouss & Robertson Halls on Wednesday, April 10, from 5 to 7 p.m., for a lively and candid discussion about the unique experiences of women working in finance.
The panel conversation, offered by Commerce Career Services and McIntire’s Center for Investors and Financial Markets and co-sponsored by student organizations Smart Woman Securities and the Women’s Business Forum, will delve into the panelists’ career backgrounds that helped to take them from Grounds to each of their current roles, gender-related issues in the finance profession, hiring, recruiting, emerging topics in finance, and more. Light dinner will be served.
Moderator Carolyn Crooks (McIntire ’02), Senior Managing Director, Financial Sponsors, Evercore, has over 20 years of experience in investment banking advisory and capital markets. Previously, she was at Barclays, where she served as a Managing Director in the financial sponsor coverage group within the investment banking division. Her extensive financing and advisory experience includes working with private equity firms to identify, finance, and monetize portfolio company investments across a broad range of industries and geographies. Prior to financial sponsor coverage, she spent 13 years in equity capital markets and was responsible for structuring and marketing equity securities for clients in the retail/consumer and industrial sectors. Crooks graduated with distinction from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia with a B.S. in Commerce. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Crooks will speak with four accomplished UVA alumnae:
- Leila Barbour (McIntire ’02) is Deputy Director, Office of Capital Markets, U.S. Department of Treasury. She is a municipal market professional with over 12 years of financial, strategic and policy experience. Barbour is an expert at analyzing emerging practices, trends and risks that affect state and local governments and other municipal market stakeholders and developing policy and best practice recommendations. She has extensive experience as a public finance investment banker and municipal adviser, assisting state and local governments as part of the financing process for municipal projects. Barbour holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and is a graduate of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.
- Ann Chung (McIntire ’03) is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Consumer for Blackstone Growth, based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2020, Chung has led investments in Oatly, Spanx, Supergoop, and Weee. Prior to joining Blackstone, she held roles at Fremont Private Holdings, the direct investing arm of the Bechtel family office, and J.H. Whitney Capital Partners where she led all consumer and consumer-impacted investments. Chung has also held positions with Swander Pace Capital, L Catterton, and Wachovia Securities and served on the boards of Alphia, Accupac, and Merrick Pet Care, while she currently serves on the Board of Directors of Oatly, Spanx, and Supergoop. Chung received her MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and her B.S. from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.
- Jackie Krese (McIntire ’85), McIntire School Advisory Board member and Head of U.S. BlackRock Capital Markets (BCM) Group and Global Head of ESG, brings insights from leading and expanding U.S. liquid capital markets and private sourcing origination and global ESG activities. Her knowledge stems from a career that includes 16 years at Credit Suisse as Group Head of Americas Debt Capital Markets Solutions, Diversity Champion for the Capital Markets and Advisory division, and part of its ESG Committee, as well as 12 years at J.P. Morgan as Managing Director focused on fixed income derivatives.
- Ansley White (A&S ’20) is Private Equity Associate at Quad-C Management, a Charlottesville-based middle market private equity firm currently investing out of their 10th fund of $1.7 billion. Prior to joining Quad-C, White, who majored in Economics and minored in Entrepreneurship at UVA, was an Analyst in the Media and Telecommunications Group at Credit Suisse, where she focused on mergers and acquisitions, debt financings, and equity raises for public and private companies.
