Private Markets Advisory Overview: Giulia Roverato

I am grateful for the opportunity to share my journey with you. I was born and raised in a university town in northern Italy, a place rich in history. My parents often took me and my brothers to visit important sites such as museums, churches, and monuments, which instilled in me a profound sense of adventure. As a child in the pre-internet world, I used to spend a lot of my free time in the local public library. My favorite novel was ‘Treasure Island’ by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. At age 17, I applied and won a scholarship for an international school in the United Kingdom, United World College of the Atlantic, located in the Welsh countryside overlooking the Bristol Channel – that same Bristol Channel that had been the setting for ‘Treasure Island’. After two intense and formative years, I achieved a place at the University of Oxford, where I enrolled to study a bachelor's in foreign languages. My studies led me to complete internships abroad in France and Brazil. That same love for adventure I had as a child propelled me in my academic journey to graduation.

It therefore came as a bit of a surprise to my family, and to some extent to myself as well, that my first job was at a management consulting firm. Newly arrived in London, I was keen to be financially independent and join an organization that would provide opportunities for personal and professional growth. The consulting model, with its project-based work and frequent client interaction, provided a window on how business operates alongside a hands-on commercial education. Client assignments often took place at the company’s site outside of London; I took many early trains and early flights. Consulting was a great school, and an opportunity to throw myself into unfamiliar environments that had the potential to change me. I was set on learning the language of business.

As a consulting analyst, I worked on several commercial due diligence projects, performing tailored market research to inform the investment decision of a private equity investor. Was the company they wished to buy a market leader? Which avenues for growth were actionable during the first years of ownership? What weakness, if any, required strengthening to protect the market position? These and other questions were the focus of our analysis, which we completed through desktop research, interviews with industry experts, and comparisons to previous transactions. Sitting on the advisory side of the table as a curious analyst, it did not take me long to see the investing side as my next step.

My family and friends were again surprised when they heard I had pivoted to become an investment professional. To this day, I am asked how I can work in finance having studied a humanities degree. While a basic level of numeracy is required, private markets do not present the challenge of the highly quantitative and specialized investment strategies performed by certain hedge fund traders. Private equity, in its essence, is about purchasing a company that is not listed on the stock market and implementing changes to the way it is managed, with a view to transforming and upgrading its operations. The monetary profit comes from the high attractiveness of a well-managed, healthy company, which will likely be acquired by a third party – whether another investment fund or a larger business in a similar sector. Private equity is a multidisciplinary field just like entrepreneurship is. You need to know the numbers, but you must be capable of everything else that goes into those numbers too: influencing stakeholders, studying competitors, managing teams, supervising legal matters, coordinating processes, and planning for future expansion. I had the chance to observe and practice these skills in each of my private market's roles: first as an analyst in a private equity fund, then as an associate in a larger private markets manager, and finally as a vice president at an investment manager. I have dealt with different situations and people each time, and my understanding of the numbers was just as important as my maturity, judgment, professional demeanor, and perspective. A keen interest in the economy and the dynamics of different industries is going to be very important for progression in this sector, and that is not a uniquely quantitative pursuit.  

Do not take it for granted that because you have no experience in a certain field you are not qualified to be part of it. Read, research, observe and enquire as much as you can, starting from a place of humility, so that you can build the skills of the professional you aspire to be. The so-called “imposter syndrome” is always going to be there; even Olympic athletes have it! A willingness to be helpful and intellectual honesty are what you need to make your skills valuable in the job market, even in competitive environments like investment firms.