Gridiron Capital’s Kallie Hapgood named to 2020 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A

The interview below is written by Mary Kathleen Flynn, Editor-in-Chief, Mergers & Acquisitions

How are you advancing the state of women?
In 2019, Gridiron increased the number of female employees by 50 percent and promoted 30 percent of females already at the firm. We have also established a Women’s Initiative to encourage female entrepreneurs and executives to help and support one another. We have partnered with multiple companies led by talented women. We see many female entrepreneurs with incredible products and services, but often they don’t have the robust network needed to pursue more advanced growth strategies.

What’s new?
The PE market has evolved and matured considerably over the last 20 years. In order to outperform the mean, managers need to find those elusive inefficiencies in an increasingly efficient market. Managers who simply hire the “typical” PE professionals are going to look and perform like everyone else. Different perspectives, experiences and ways of thinking make a firm more powerful and give that manager the ability to think outside the box and create value in unique and creative ways. At Gridiron, we work hard to get better every day. Part of how we do that is by interacting with new people and constantly challenging the status quo.

The list recognizes female leaders with significant influence inside their companies and in the wider deal making world who are champions of change and who help advance the state of women in financial services. An online nomination process, and the editorial team, led by editor-in-chief Mary Kathleen Flynn, determines who is on the list.