As many women working in the finance industry are advancing in their careers, assuming many leadership roles in the industry, they are still facing a host of unique challenges. For female UVA students interested in pursuing one of many avenues available in finance, questions remain.
To offer clarity on the subject, the McIntire School welcomes a panel of distinguished professional women representing various firms and career stages in the financial services industry to Rouss & Robertson Halls on Nov. 13 for a lively and candid discussion about the unique experiences of women working in finance.
The panel conversation, offered by Commerce Career Services 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, at Evercore, has extensive experience with decades working 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 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 with a B.S. in Commerce. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Crooks will moderate a career finance-focused panel, speaking with three accomplished women:
- Kate Pilcher Ciafone (McIntire ’02) is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Moelis & Company, where she is responsible for the firm’s global strategy and operations. She has over 20 years of experience in the investment banking industry both as a banker and as an operating executive. Prior to Moelis & Company, Ciafone was an investment banker in the Financial Institutions Group at UBS. She holds a B.S. in Commerce with distinction from the McIntire School of Commerce.
- Elizabeth Hopkins is an Executive Director and Banker at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, covering Richmond and Central Virginia. She works closely with multigenerational families, private business owners, executives, endowments, and foundations to present strategies to help grow and preserve their wealth. Most recently, she was a Strategic Advisor with TSW and was with Bank of America Private Bank and Goldman Sachs. Hopkins earned an MBA from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her B.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from James Madison University.
- Marina Serenbetz (McIntire ’12) is a Partner at Sands Capital on Global Innovation Strategy, which seeks to invest in leading growth-stage private technology companies. Serenbetz focuses on investments in e-commerce, fintech, and industrial tech companies. Prior to joining Sands, Serenbetz was Managing Director, Portfolio Manager at Steadfast Capital, a New York-based hedge fund, where she oversaw investments in technology and internet companies including Alibaba, Wix, Facebook, Netflix, and Interactive Corp. Since she joined Sands in 2022, she has co-led the firm’s private investment in Ramp. Serenbetz began her career in the investment bank at Goldman Sachs after receiving a B.S. in Commerce with Distinction from the University of Virginia.
Additionally, the following finance professionals will join the event for a networking session:
- Jacqueline Young Perrins is a Managing Director and Market Manager for J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Greater Washington region. She and her team help some of the area’s most successful business owners, families, endowments, and foundations define and achieve their financial goals. She began her career as an Analyst at Bankers Trust before moving to Corporate Finance and Sales and Trading at Chemical Bank. Her desire to work more closely with families brought her to J.P. Morgan. She earned a B.A. in Economics from Bucknell University and the London School of Economics, as well as her MBA from The University of North Carolina.
- Ansley White (A&S ’20) is a 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.
