Ep. 65 Gretchen Perkins, Partner, Avance Investment Management
On this episode of Investors & Operators, Jordan sits down with Gretchen Perkins, Partner at Avance Investment Management. Together, they discuss:
the importance of mentorship in private equity
the simple solution to engaging diverse talent
parenting advice
…and so much more.
LINKS
iTunes - https://apple.co/3zoiL65
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3pS85bs
Google - https://bit.ly/2RUIp1B
Amazon - https://amzn.to/3iD7XLp
Stitcher - https://bit.ly/3gxKSqT
Gretchen Perkins grew up a preacher’s daughter just outside of Detroit, Michigan. Now she’s one of four partners at Avance Investment Management, a middle-market private equity firm where the remaining three partners are of Hispanic descent—and she takes that responsibility seriously.
An “all are welcome” approach.
There are plenty of tropes about sons and daughters of preachers, and Gretchen landed herself squarely between the two extremes: a belief in people and a love for human connection + just enough grit and a desire to push boundaries and challenge norms.
Growing up, Gretchen remembers her father opening up the church to anyone who needed a place to sleep or something to eat.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and Gretchen continued that sentiment by having an open door policy at home. “There were always kids around the house,” says Gretchen, referring to the swaths of her children’s friends that would hang around her house, relaxing in the kitchen, trying to make the famous “Perkins quote board” etc.
Fast forward a couple more decades, and Gretchen is the one rounding up Juneteenth donations from her colleagues and curating pride messaging for her firm, Avance Investment Management.
This “all are welcome” approach stuck with Gretchen from childhood, and she’s allowed it to grow and adapt with the state of the world. It’s what makes her the perfect fit with David Perez, Luis Zaldivar, and Erik Scott; more than that: it’s what makes her who she is.
The simple solution to engaging diverse talent.
Most everyone would agree that engaging (both investing in and hiring) diverse talent is a top priority at their firm--but many efforts, committees, task forces, etc., designed to do so are often DOA. When people realize that thought ≠ action when it comes to DEI, they typically throw their hands up and say, “I tried.”
Gretchen’s simple solution to seeing DEI efforts through?
“Try harder.”
Quick, harsh, and 100% true.
Gretchen acknowledges that it’s often hard to burst out of the traditional demographic in finance, but if you put in the effort to access new circles of people, you will find them.
You will have to expand your network and move through new circles to find people who don’t look like you. You will have to look beyond your Ivy League circles to access HBCU circles.
It may be tough, but that extra push of effort will yield the results you’re seeking, unearth rock-star talent, and establish the right culture at your firm.
***
GRETCHEN PERKINS is a Partner at Avance Investment Management, LLC, and is responsible for sourcing investment opportunities both for the firm and for portfolio companies. Gretchen brings over 20 years of sourcing and business development experience, having created and implemented successful business development organizations and programs at her two prior firms: Huron Capital and Long Point Capital, in addition to many prior years in a variety of financial services and consulting roles.
She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan. Gretchen has been an active member of the Association for Corporate Growth for over twenty years, having held multiple board and leadership positions in the ACG at the chapter and national levels. Gretchen will Chair the ACG Intergrowth national conference in 2022. Gretchen is also involved in multiple non-profit endeavors, including the following organizations: Endeavor Detroit, Detroit Police Athletic League, United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan, and 100 Businesses Who Care. Gretchen resides in Florida and has two grown children.
