As a child, Sara Huang dreamed of launching astronauts into space. Now, as a Managing Director in Ardian’s Secondaries & Primaries team in New York, Sara spends her days building attractive investment ideas and leading investment processes across the entire Secondaries and Primaries platform globally. Originally a student of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Sara discovered Finance and Private Equity, almost by chance, at a job fair during her studies in the United States. Moving to the U.S. from Ningbo, China as a teenager with limited English, her experience has taught her a valuable lesson:
Take every opportunity life throws at you – and learn, always keep learning.
Through an internship in the Technology department of Goldman Sachs, Sara became interested in the company's financial activities. She then worked at Merrill Lynch, where she learned about various aspects of the business, notably trading, derivatives, and prime brokerage. Two years later, she joined Ardian in search of meaning in her career. “Beyond making transactions happen, I wanted to see the long-term impact of investment decisions,” she says.
l was lucky enough to join the Ardian team in the early stages of the New York office. There was a very entrepreneurial spirit at the time and I got to do a bit of everything.
Knowledge and commitment, touchstones in a 13-year career
Knowledge and commitment, touchstones in a 13-year career
Sara’s current position as Managing Director in the Secondaries & Primaries team is the culmination of a career with Ardian that she began as an Analyst. “The nature of my position gives me a bird’s eye view of the industry – the investment side as well as the transactional side linked to secondaries opportunities. I get to wear both the LP and the GP hats on a daily basis.”
This set of diversified responsibilities reflects Sara’s aspirations for knowledge. “I am in a constant dialogue with the private equity managers discussing their portfolio companies. A lot of work goes into research and due diligence as well. And I am often in contact with GPs that are invested in the same space as Ardian portfolios, trying to better understand the true differentiation of the assets that we are trying to purchase in secondary transactions.”
There is no typical day.
Helping young talent to develop a lasting career
Helping young talent to develop a lasting career
Along with her own position, Sara has also seen the company develop. “Ardian has made meaningful strides in terms of diversity and inclusion. Over a three-year period, we doubled our female presence in the New York and San Francisco offices – in a variety of functions.
We have a lot more women in the investment teams, for example, which gives us a strong presence in terms of industry visibility.
“This year we were able to send a group of six deal makers to the largest conference for women in private equity in the USA, for instance,” she added.
A crucial role in that change has been played by the Ardian Women's Club, whose Americas' chapter was co-founded by Sara and her colleague Julia Wu. "The Ardian Women's Club has been an exceptionally important part of my professional development," says Sara.
After ten years in the business, there comes a time when you ask yourself, ‘Where do I go next?’ The Ardian Women's Club allows me to use a different aspect of my abilities and offers me the opportunity to give back to the community that has supported me.
Conferences featuring renowned speakers, networking events, support and mentoring coupled with self-defense lessons and introductions to art appreciation, etc., the Ardian Women's Club activities listed by Sara all share a common goal: career and personal development. "We need to ensure that the young talent we recruit today can build lasting careers within the company and project themselves into the future. I believe it is essential that they can see women rise to key positions, coordinate their personal and professional lives, and achieve ambitious goals. The Ardian Women’s Club allowed us to build a close community where female staff feel comfortable in sharing their challenges and the lessons learned, so we can collectively improve and develop, as a group.”
Positive impact, a crucial aspect of the financial industry
Positive impact, a crucial aspect of the financial industry
Along with her own mother, Sara cites Michelle Obama and Dominique Senequier, the founder and President of Ardian, among the women she finds inspiring. Committed to helping other women realize their full potential in the private equity industry, her advice is clear:
It's essential to be curious and willing to work hard. And above all, build your network as soon as you start studying finance. Meet people in the sector, ask them questions, speak to them.
For Sara, there is one final aspect of the financial sector that must be borne in mind. “I will always remember what one of our finance professors said,” she recalls. “’Every decision you make in a financial context will not just translate into how much money is made. It will also impact the daily lives of many people – their pension, their retirement, their dreams and aspirations…’ Ultimately, this is what we work for. We want to make good investments -- not just because they yield good profits, but also to have positive impacts for our investors and for society as a whole.”
