Sarah Smith joined Advent in 2007 and is a Managing Director in New York. She originally joined Advent as an Associate focusing on buyout and growth equity investments in the consumer and retail sectors. Following business school, Sarah rejoined Advent’s Limited Partner Services Group, primarily focused on fundraising and investor relations activities in the Americas.
Prior to joining Advent, Sarah worked at McKinsey & Company, concentrating on strategy projects for consumer products and private equity clients.
Sarah received a BS with highest honors in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
How does Advent identify interesting companies?
The breadth of the organization geographically and the history of being sector-focused for over 20 years are critical to our sourcing engine. Having global teams connected along sector lines creates a powerful tapestry – Advent has specialized insights that we can act on faster and more deeply.
What is it like to work with other colleagues at Advent in light of its partnership structure?
The partnership structure aligns really well with our collaborative culture, which is evident in so many parts of what we do. Advent does not have a CEO. We are led by a group of managing partners. No one is named Advent. We celebrate the deals that we can win by assembling a team from around the globe.
“Having global teams connected along sector lines creates a powerful tapestry – we have specialized insights that we can act on faster and more deeply.”
Sarah Smith
Managing Director, Limited Partner Services, Advent
What does learning and growing look like at Advent?
A big part of the ethos at Advent is being entrepreneurial and taking chances. There’s a lot of support for trying to do something new – successful or not – vs. just doing what has been done before.
Since you began your career, what’s changed the most or least about the industry?
The complexity of the industry is vastly different today than it was 15-20 years ago. Deals are more complex, the investor universe is more diverse and demands more, competition is far greater. For our team in particular, it means collaboration across the firm – from deal teams to legal and finance and compliance – is critical.
What is the best career advice you have received?
Early in your career it’s hard to be patient. There’s a temptation to jump around to get more faster – more responsibility, more visibility, a faster promotion. I think there’s a lot of merit in being patient, putting your head down. If you can compound your knowledge and learn from people who care about your development, then opportunities will present themselves.
