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Synergist NY Breakfast with Ratio Advisors – Jan. 24th (limited space for members)
Synergist NY Mentorship Program Kick-off Cocktail Event – Jan. 30th, 8pm
Synergist SF Member Happy Hour – Jan. 30th, 7-9pm (email Katie for more info)
Synergist SF SoulCycle Event – Feb. 8th 12pm (RSVP here)
 

Synergist Senior Sound Bites - January 2020:
Emily Azer

Vice President, GI Partners
B.S. Economics from Wharton, MBA from Harvard Business School

CONGRATULATIONS TO EMILY ON WELCOMING HER DAUGHTER NOELLE TO THE WORLD ON CHRISTMAS EVE! 

Emily Azer joined GI Partners in 2018 as part of the inaugural team for the firm’s Data Infrastructure fund, which focuses on investments in data centers, data transport, wireless access and tech-enabled infrastructure.  Prior to GI Partners, Emily was a Vice President at Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, where she focused on investments in the data infrastructure sector.  She started her career at Blackstone in their investment banking group followed by KKR in their North America Private Equity and Global Infrastructure groups.  Emily holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Most challenging part of your job / favorite part of your job 
My favorite part of the job is meeting with new management teams, learning about new business models, and developing my knowledge of a sector.The most challenging part is identifying proprietary opportunities and staying disciplined in a world with increasing competition and increasing valuations.

 
What do you view as the key skills needed to be successful in investing?
  • Being able to generate investment ideas & opportunities
  • Identifying key trends & distilling data down into key metrics (pattern recognition)
  • Creating a trusting relationship between yourself and potential management teams you work with, and between yourself & your investment committee
How should young professionals starting out in private equity figure out the type of investing role (i.e. stage of investment, team size, industry, etc.) that is right for them?
I think you should ask yourself “If I had asked my parents and friends to give their savings to me, what sorts of investments would I make with that money?”With that lens, most likely you would only invest where you see opportunity to be successful (no one would want to lose their friends’ money!) and where you can have true conviction that the investments you’re making are good ones to make.Don’t go into a career where you don’t think there’s ample room to create value.
 
It’s cliché, but being passionate about the sector where you invest is also key.This doesn’t mean you can only invest in products or services you use personally; people don’t normally think of infrastructure as a ‘passion’, but the best infrastructure investors are certainly passionate about their coverage.The sector you pick should be one where you always want to learn more, even outside the office, and where you enjoy people who operate in that sector (i.e. don’t go into venture if you don’t like hanging around entrepreneurs all day).
 
Having been at different PE firms how do you/managers you have worked for help create a positive work-environment from a more senior role? 
In my view, transparency is key for a positive work environment.It’s important to set specific and tangible goals for yourself and for those whom you manage, and to stay abreast of progress throughout the year.These can relate to adding tangible skills (for example, learning to lead a debt financing), building relationships or gaining internal exposure across the organization.I’ve been fortunate to work with great managers who have created that transparency with me.
 
How much did you consider your personal life before taking a senior role in investing? 
When I made my last career move, I knew that the next place I ended up would be where I started my family.Looking at my friends, two types of organizations seem supportive of working moms: i) large institutions with the processes and mandates in place to retain women and ii) small, entrepreneurial organizations that are willing to be flexible to attract & retain talent.Unfortunately, most investment firms seem to fall somewhere in the middle.My choice to join a new team in a new fund was driven in part by the belief that I would have the latitude to mold my career ambitions and my family goals together.
 
Something you wish you knew at the start of your career 
I wish I had understood the power of relationships earlier in my career.While I believe that you need to master certain foundational skills in the first few years, you should still make time to develop your network – both inside and outside your firm.If the partner you’re working with is developing a relationship with a certain company CEO, see if you can develop a relationship with a different C-site member or someone more junior at that company.Try to meet a few of your firm’s investors and develop individual relationships with them.Get to know the people at your level who are at competing investment firms or who are competing with your group in the same sectors.Network organizations like Synergist are also great for this type of relationship building – but make sure you follow-up a cocktail event with a personal email.
 
Recent read 
I recently reread “Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way we Live, Love, Parent & Lead” by Brene Brown to see the same message through a parenting angle.
 
Favorite news source 
New York Times & Axios podcasts
 
Anything we haven’t asked that you would like to share
Harvard Business Review runs a great podcast ‘Woman at Work’ that I recommend for anyone looking for more career advice.

Thank you for your time, Emily! To learn more about GI Partners, click here.
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