In early October, the Hamilton Lane London team hosted eighteen talented young women who traveled from universities across the UK for our London Undergraduate Women’s Summit, a one-day educational and networking event focused on the private markets. While Hamilton Lane has hosted the firm’s signature event in our U.S. headquarters for the past three years, this event was the first of its kind in the UK. The students, who represented a variety of backgrounds, various experience levels, and majors, all arrived with a common interest in learning more about the private markets.
Ana Lei Ortiz, a Managing Director on our Relationship Management team, welcomed attendees and outlined the main objectives for the day: to share knowledge of the private markets and discuss various career paths into the industry, as well as to facilitate networking between like-minded women.
Hamilton Lane’s EMEA Investment team offered mentoring and education around the private markets, while colleagues from the Business Development and Relationship Management teams participated in panel discussions focused on highlighting the broader opportunities available within the private markets. During these sessions, attendees had the opportunity to ask questions in a forum-like setting and gain insight on how to think about careers in the private markets.
To help with the recruiting process, hiring managers within the investment division led CV, interview, and networking workshops. Our junior investment team led panels around our graduate scheme and their experiences with the transition from university to working in the financial sector.
Attendees also had a chance to connect and learn from each other throughout the course of multiple networking breaks. The attendees’ areas of interest varied by their levels of exposure to finance, with the less experienced interested in how to find internship and job opportunities, and the more seasoned attendees focused on comparing the private markets to other asset classes that they may be considering. The benefits of connecting like-minded women were clear, as discussions around individual experiences unfolded and advice was exchanged.
The inaugural London Undergraduate Women’s Summit proved to be time well-spent for both the attendees and Hamilton Lane. After an impactful day of learning and building relationships, attendees returned to recruiting season with what Hamilton Lane believed to be a strong foundation of knowledge of the private markets. The team in London was thrilled to offer this event in the UK and look forward to providing the same opportunity to a new group of promising young women in the future.