by Elizabeth Harrin (London)
It’s not unusual for Trish Barrigan to split her week between European capitals. She grew up in France, speaks fluent French, studied at Boston College and when she is in the UK, she works out of Benson Elliot’s London headquarters in the swanky Knightsbridge district, where the team is made up of nine nationalities, speaking nine different languages.
“Many people think it sounds glamorous to be in Paris for 2 days and then Helsinki for 2 days, but the reality is that the more you are out of the office, the more the work piles up on your desk,” she says.
Trish Barrigan is the Senior Partner of Benson Elliot Capital Management LLP, a leading pan-European private equity real estate firm with more than €1 billion of assets under management. She has worked there since 2006 and sits on the Investment and Executive Committees, so the piles of work on her desk can be significant.
Private equity real estate is a sub-sector of the better known private equity industry. However, it’s still a huge sector with a global reach, attracting billions of dollars of investment. In 2008, around $115 billion of equity alone was raised for investment in private equity real estate across the globe, and about $25 billion of that was raised just for Europe.
“The world of real estate and private equity investing has changed dramatically in recent years,” Trish says. “Investors are no longer simply looking to just invest in real estate assets directly, nor do they plan just to acquire exposure to the asset class indirectly via the public markets. A growing number of investors are being attracted to private equity real estate, which is what makes it exciting.”
In Trish’s role, no two days are the same. “I get to interact with a myriad of different people all the time on a number of tasks from negotiating with banks to arranging long term joint ventures with potential operating partners,” she explains.
The variety makes it a good career choice if you are good at multi-tasking. “You are constantly being called upon to look at new transactions while managing your existing investments,” Trish says. “The key to success is not just in the ability to buy and sell shrewdly, but also in the value you are able to create through active management throughout your ownership.”
You also need a good head for figures – quantitative skills being the top of Trish’s list of key attributes for making a success of a career in private equity real estate. “You need to understand how the numbers work and, ultimately, how you will make money for your investors and firm,” she says. “Any candidate that can demonstrate their interest in a field and articulate their ambitions, and also show dedication to achieving those goals, deserves to succeed.” Trish also believes that vision and commitment are traits that the successful professional needs, along with the ability to communicate. “You also need to have strong interpersonal skills and conviction, as you deal with so many different people and have to have the drive and focus to see through your investment management strategies.”
And that’s where the travel comes in. Real estate investment is a tangible business: at the end of the day Trish is buying, selling and managing physical assets and it’s hard to do that without knowing what they are really like. Being on the road – or in a plane – does mean a lot of time away from home.
“Work/life balance becomes very important,” she says, “and the only way to achieve it is through extreme organization and making the most of every opportunity that comes your way. It is not easy, but I have learnt that by being organised, you can find time for family, fitness, culture or whatever else helps you to remain sane and a well-rounded human being.”
Private equity real estate, like many areas of finance, is not an industry that has many high profile women, but that is slowly changing. Trish was awarded recently with a Women in the City award for her work in alternative investment.
While there might not be many women visible in the industry at the moment, Trish believes that women make a significant contribution to the investment scene. “These awards celebrate the often unrecognised, but extremely important, contribution that women make to London’s investment community,” Trish says. “An increasing number of influential positions are occupied by inspirational women, demonstrating our capabilities and the value that we bring to the workplace.”
One of the great things about the real estate side of private equity is that it is moving so quickly – and opinions are moving along with that. “Attitudes are changing fast,” Trish says, “and with the encouragement of employers and other senior figures, both male and female, I see no reason why more women should not continue to succeed in the sector.”
Trish is doing her own bit to encourage women in, and into, private equity careers. Teresa Sayers, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Skills Council called Trish a “trailblazing visionary” although Trish says she has never thought of herself in that way. “By increasing my visibility in my sector,” she says, “through groups such as Women in Real Estate, a professional association aligned to the Urban Land Institute that promotes women my industry, and by spending time mentoring and developing my own staff as well as other women who come to me for advice, I think that I can demonstrate to them that they can achieve what I have and more.”
Women in the City Winner: Trish Barrigan, Senior Partner, Benson Elliot Capital Management LLP
Movers and Shakersby Elizabeth Harrin (London)
It’s not unusual for Trish Barrigan to split her week between European capitals. She grew up in France, speaks fluent French, studied at Boston College and when she is in the UK, she works out of Benson Elliot’s London headquarters in the swanky Knightsbridge district, where the team is made up of nine nationalities, speaking nine different languages.
Trish Barrigan is the Senior Partner of Benson Elliot Capital Management LLP, a leading pan-European private equity real estate firm with more than €1 billion of assets under management. She has worked there since 2006 and sits on the Investment and Executive Committees, so the piles of work on her desk can be significant.
Private equity real estate is a sub-sector of the better known private equity industry. However, it’s still a huge sector with a global reach, attracting billions of dollars of investment. In 2008, around $115 billion of equity alone was raised for investment in private equity real estate across the globe, and about $25 billion of that was raised just for Europe.
“The world of real estate and private equity investing has changed dramatically in recent years,” Trish says. “Investors are no longer simply looking to just invest in real estate assets directly, nor do they plan just to acquire exposure to the asset class indirectly via the public markets. A growing number of investors are being attracted to private equity real estate, which is what makes it exciting.”
In Trish’s role, no two days are the same. “I get to interact with a myriad of different people all the time on a number of tasks from negotiating with banks to arranging long term joint ventures with potential operating partners,” she explains.
The variety makes it a good career choice if you are good at multi-tasking. “You are constantly being called upon to look at new transactions while managing your existing investments,” Trish says. “The key to success is not just in the ability to buy and sell shrewdly, but also in the value you are able to create through active management throughout your ownership.”
You also need a good head for figures – quantitative skills being the top of Trish’s list of key attributes for making a success of a career in private equity real estate. “You need to understand how the numbers work and, ultimately, how you will make money for your investors and firm,” she says. “Any candidate that can demonstrate their interest in a field and articulate their ambitions, and also show dedication to achieving those goals, deserves to succeed.” Trish also believes that vision and commitment are traits that the successful professional needs, along with the ability to communicate. “You also need to have strong interpersonal skills and conviction, as you deal with so many different people and have to have the drive and focus to see through your investment management strategies.”
And that’s where the travel comes in. Real estate investment is a tangible business: at the end of the day Trish is buying, selling and managing physical assets and it’s hard to do that without knowing what they are really like. Being on the road – or in a plane – does mean a lot of time away from home.
“Work/life balance becomes very important,” she says, “and the only way to achieve it is through extreme organization and making the most of every opportunity that comes your way. It is not easy, but I have learnt that by being organised, you can find time for family, fitness, culture or whatever else helps you to remain sane and a well-rounded human being.”
Private equity real estate, like many areas of finance, is not an industry that has many high profile women, but that is slowly changing. Trish was awarded recently with a Women in the City award for her work in alternative investment.
While there might not be many women visible in the industry at the moment, Trish believes that women make a significant contribution to the investment scene. “These awards celebrate the often unrecognised, but extremely important, contribution that women make to London’s investment community,” Trish says. “An increasing number of influential positions are occupied by inspirational women, demonstrating our capabilities and the value that we bring to the workplace.”
One of the great things about the real estate side of private equity is that it is moving so quickly – and opinions are moving along with that. “Attitudes are changing fast,” Trish says, “and with the encouragement of employers and other senior figures, both male and female, I see no reason why more women should not continue to succeed in the sector.”
Trish is doing her own bit to encourage women in, and into, private equity careers. Teresa Sayers, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Skills Council called Trish a “trailblazing visionary” although Trish says she has never thought of herself in that way. “By increasing my visibility in my sector,” she says, “through groups such as Women in Real Estate, a professional association aligned to the Urban Land Institute that promotes women my industry, and by spending time mentoring and developing my own staff as well as other women who come to me for advice, I think that I can demonstrate to them that they can achieve what I have and more.”
In Case You Missed It: News Round-up
NewsIn case you were too busy working on your New Year’s resolutions (or too busy breaking them) to have kept up with the news, contributor Martin Mitchell has gathered some important market events from the first ten days of 2009 to help you start this week well informed:
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New Sexual Harassment Law in Saudi Arabia
NewsSaudi Arabia is a country with a reputation for its less-than-progressive attitudes and laws regarding women. Women aren’t allowed to drive. Women are required to have permission from a male guardian to work, travel, study, marry, or even have access to basic health care. And women aren’t allowed to own their own businesses unless there is a male director or chairman. But 2008 was a year in which some progress for professional women was made, first with the appointment of the first female CFO in the country, and then with the draft legislation by the Shoura Council forbidding sexual harassment in the workplace.
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Sophia’s Sunshine School
Women and PhilanthropyOn May 27, 2006, a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean shook the region surrounding the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. The immediate death toll was close to 6,000, with over 37,000 injured and 1 million people displaced. Following the earthquake, large charities rushed in to provide shelter and food. But once those charities had left, there were many schools that needed to be rebuilt. Sharon Bloodworth, a co-manager of $200 million in investment assets at White Oaks Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Minneapolis, jumped at the opportunity to fund the rebuilding of one such school – Sophia’s Sunshine School.
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Movers and Shakers: Telecommunications
Movers and ShakersIt’s nearly a cliché to say that women are the communicators in this world; however, given the lack of women at the top of many of the top ten Telecom companies on the Fortune 500, one wonders if this news has somehow escaped the powers that be.
Yet we don’t need to look too deep into the list—just to Verizon, #2 in Telecom and #17 overall— to find not one but FIVE women at the executive level, all of whom have been with the company in its various prior incarnations, through mergers and splits.
Marianne Drost, senior vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary for Verizon is responsible for strategic transactions, securities and finance, SEC reporting and disclosure and corporate governance in addition to her role as corporate secretary. She began her career at GTE in 1977 and continued there—save a brief hiatus at Cheesebrough-Pond’s Inc. legal department in 1984—until GTE became part of Verizon. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Connecticut College in New London and received her J.D. with honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
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The State of Massachusetts
NewsThe rest of the country may paint Massachusetts as an ultra-liberal state, but for many women living in the Commonwealth the reality is actually much more conservative and a little old-fashioned.
According to a report published last month by The Boston Club, which provides networking and professional support for women in business, the number of female executives and directors in the state’s 100 largest public companies fell in 2008. In fact, the number and percentage of women executive officers, and the percentage of companies with a woman among their most highly compensated officers, fell to the lowest point since The Boston Club began tracking the data in 2003. When this information is coupled with the fact that women comprise just 26 percent of the Commonwealth’s legislature, the state of women in Massachusetts looks grim.
“The Old Boy’s Network is alive and well,” says Vicki Donlan, author of “Her Turn: Why It’s time for Women to Lead in America.” Donlan is also the founder of Women’s Business, a Massachusetts-based newspaper. “Boston is a conservative part of the country,” she says. “It takes a long time to move forward.” Read more
Falling Off The Ladder: Do Women “Shoot Themselves In The Foot”?
Expert AnswersWomen are employed at higher levels today than ever before, but some are still struggling to stay up at the top of the ladder of success. While experts agree that gender bias remains a force to be reckoned with, some say that women may have another enemy in the workplace: themselves.
Jo Miller, CEO of Women’s Leadership Coaching Inc. in California believes that the most rampant behaviors preventing women from breaking into positions of leadership include refusing to acknowledge or “play the game” of office politics, relinquishing power and influence, working when they should be schmoozing, accepting low-visibility assignments, and downplaying accomplishments.
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Ask-A-Recruiter: The Versatility of Specific Graduate Degrees
Ask A RecruiterI recently have graduated with my BS in Business Administration, Finance. I’ve been accepted into University of Richmond to study the Masters of HR Management. I find HR very interesting and want to learn about the subject, but what if later on I decide to focus on a career outside of HR? Will this masters degree hinder me?
Since my undergrad is in business, I have absolutely no desire to go for my MBA. They seem like a dime a dozen these days. How would the MHRM be viewed to recruiters in terms of managing other areas of a business? Other departments?
If you ask 10 recruiters the same question, you will get a range of answers. Careers are not an exact science and vary based on an individual’s goals, skill set, personality, drive, etc. In this case, the only thing I am sure about is that you will find some recruiters who highly value the MHRM, some who dismiss it and some who will be in-between.
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Raising the Bar: Balancing Professional and Personal Choices
Work-LifeAs a mother of four and partner of a leading matrimonial law firm on Long Island, I have some inspirational anecdotes and advice related to the challenges of balancing professional and personal choices.
I married my husband during college and by graduation day, we were expecting our first child. I always knew I wanted to continue to graduate school, and with my husband’s encouragement I started law school when my son was 9 months old. I had always loved to read and write, which made analyzing cases for hours each day slightly less impossible. After class, I immediately went home to my “real job”. I studied with my son on my lap and after he went to sleep. I soon became adept at multitasking and juggling family and school.
During law school, I excelled in my studies, but I was fraught with anxieties and concerns about what I was doing: Would I ever practice law in the future? Would I be able to handle combining family and career?
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Once More with Feeling: Emotions at Work
Office PoliticsTwo senior managers, both direct reports to the CEO, are faced off in a heated discussion. Their eyes flash. Their voices rise. Neither will give an inch. Then one shouts, “Come back when you’re not so emotional” and walks out. End of confrontation. It happened to Betty-Ann Heggie. At the time, she was the highest-ranking woman at PotashCorp and one of the few women in the mining industry. Her equally angry peer was a man. In business, to let your emotions get the best of you was to be weak, and in the dirty, sweaty, tough-guy world of mining in which they both dealt, a display of emotion could be career suicide.
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