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Upcoming Synergist Events:
 
San Francisco:
- MBA Myth-Busting with The Admission Advisory Group - Feb 26 (Weds), 6:30pm PT @ BDO SF (RSVP here)
- "Women Investing in Women" Q1 Event sponsored by Ropes & Gray LLP - Mar 19 (Thurs), 6:30pm PT @ Ropes & Gray SF (SAVE THE DATE! More info to come)

New York City:
- Member Paint Party - Mar 8 (Sun), 12pm ET @ Muse Paintbar Tribeca (RSVP here)
- Dinner with Owl Rock Capital - Mar 19 (Thurs) (SAVE THE DATE! More info to come)

LA:
- Synergist LA x Barry's - Mar 8 (Sun), 2:30pm PT @ Barry's Venice (email synergistla@gmail.com for more info)

Synergist Senior Sound Bites - February 2020:
Jennie Mazzucco

Vice President, Owl Rock Capital
B.A. Economics, History from Brown University

Background
Jennie is a VP at Owl Rock, a direct lending firm with $16bn AUM. She grew up in Connecticut and attended Brown University, where she majored in Economics and History. Before joining Owl Rock, Jennie was a VP at CCMP Capital, an upper middle market private equity firm, where she focused on investments in the industrial and consumer sectors. She began her career in the Equity Capital Markets and Leveraged Finance groups at BofAML.
 
Tell us a bit about your background / career path 
I wish I could say my path to investing was well-planned, but that wasn’t quite the case! Growing up, no one in my family was in finance and I always wanted to be a doctor. When I got to college, my dad encouraged me to sign up for an Intro to Econ class on a whim. It was September 2008 and our financial markets were in free fall. It was a fascinating time to learn about the industry and I decided to double-major in Economics and History. When junior year rolled around, some of my friends were applying for banking internships so I thought I might as well too. I ended up interning at BofA and returning full time, first in ECM and then in Leveraged Finance. My favorite part of the job has always been learning about companies so the move from Lev Fin to investing felt like a natural transition.

A lot of people are familiar with private equity, but less so with private credit. Can you explain what it is?  
At a high level, we work with financial sponsors to provide a private debt solution for LBOs and other capital raises. Because we hold the investments on our balance sheet like a PE firm, our diligence process is rigorous and we see our deals from cradle-to-grave. Our pace of deal flow and organization based on sponsor coverage are similar to Lev Fin at a bank though.

It’s an exciting time to be in private credit because the asset class has grown really fast in recent years. Owl Rock is actually a good example – we were founded 4 years ago and now have $16bn AUM. This growth is partly a result of the PE fundraising boom, as well as greater flexibility, speed and ease of execution than syndicated deals. I think we’ll continue to see this share shift away from banks as direct lenders can increasingly speak for size and do bigger deals in the upper-middle market.

You started in private equity and then moved to private credit. Why did you switch, and what do you see as the pros and cons of the two? 
Private equity was a great training ground. It gives you an unparalleled degree of exposure to management teams, modeling and analytical experience. For me personally, I found I was most excited by new deal execution and less by ongoing portfolio company work (which can be a big part of the job). On the credit side, you typically see more flow and do more deals because your diligence time frames are shorter. And because you are not the principal equity holder, you are less operationally involved with portfolio companies on a day-to-day basis. I’ve really enjoyed developing a better pulse of the market and different industries in credit because you see so many books come through.
 
What advice do you have for young women in investing? 
One thing I try hard to do is be dispassionate and balanced in diligence. It can be really tough as you spend a lot of time and money on a deal and get walked up on price (or leverage on the credit side). Not only does a disciplined approach build your credibility with IC, but in this late-cycle, high valuation environment I think we’ll all see that the deals we don’t do are just as important as the deals we do (if not more).
 
Also, I’d ask to present 1-2 slides in IC even as a junior associate. Your deal teams may not offer it up, but chances are they’ll let you. It helps you practice public speaking and puts you on senior folks’ radars.
 
Finally, it can be hard when you’re just starting out to make time for the things and people that matter to you. But I’ve always found I’m a lot happier when I squeeze in that early morning SoulCycle class or catch up with a friend – no matter how much I have on my plate.
 
How should young professionals in investing figure out the type of investing role (i.e. stage of investment, team size, industry, etc.) that is right for them? 
Talk to as many people as possible. You learn a lot about what you want by hearing other people’s paths. Also, someone once told me everyone should have their own ‘personal Board of Directors.’ It’s a funny way to phrase it, but bouncing ideas off people who know and care about you can be really helpful. I’d also define your non-negotiables and stick to them. I knew I wanted to be somewhere I can be challenged, but also stay for the long-haul without feeling burnt out or unsupported. Owl Rock turned out to be the perfect fit, but I may not have found it without talking to a bunch of people along the way.
 
How does your organization approach gender and other diversity initiatives? 
One thing I’ve realized is that culture truly comes from the top-down. At Owl Rock, we are lucky to have 3 great founders who make a concerted effort to create an inclusive work environment and believe diversity can improve investing outcomes. So as we’ve grown, one of our top priorities has been building out a Diversity & Inclusion program to recruit, develop and retain diverse employees. We have an awesome group of women here as a result, but are always looking for more!
 
Recent favorite reads 
I went on a tear and read all Liane Moriarty’s books after finishing the 2nd season of “Big Little Lies.” I also enjoyed “The Banker’s Wife” and “The Darlings” by Cristina Alger.
 
Favorite news sources 
NYT, Robinhood Snacks, PE Hub... and U.S. Weekly.

Favorite NYC restaurant
My favorite neighborhood spot is Estancia 460, but I could eat all my meals at Jack’s Wife Freda if the lines weren’t so long!

Thank you for your time, Jennie! To learn more about Owl Rock, click here.
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