News & Analysis

PODCAST: How to break into private debt

Two professionals in the asset class featured in this year’s Women of Influence list, MV Credit’s Nicole Downer and Ares Management’s Andrea Fernandez, discuss how to navigate career challenges in the industry and resist gender bias.

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In an industry such as private debt, women often face different obstacles than their male colleagues, which can make their career paths more challenging. Indeed, the proportion of women in senior positions is lower than that of men – only 42 percent working in private debt front-office distribution roles hold senior positions, compared with 61 percent of men, according to a data snapshot analysed by executive search firm Jensen Partners. This creates an environment where firms must step up to close the gender gap, and thankfully, many are starting to.

In this episode of Spotlight, Nicole Downer, managing partner and head of investor solutions at MV Credit, and Andrea Fernandez, partner and head of product management and investor relations for European credit at Ares Management, share some of the issues they have faced over the course of their careers and give advice on how to push back against gender bias.

Downer and Fernandez are among 10 professionals featured in the private debt category of PEI Media’s Women of Influence in Private Markets list, class of 2022. The list celebrates 60 outstanding women working in alternative assets across six categories: private equity, private debt, infrastructure, real estate, venture capital and cross-asset class.