Mergers & Acquisitions names the 2023 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, including Mizzen Capital’s Marilyn Adler.
How did you further your firm’s ESG goals?
Mizzen has funded a number of ESG companies including a company that installs solar panels on low income housing, a company that installs energy efficient lighting, refrigeration and HVAC in quick-service restaurants, a waste recycling company and a biomass facility. We require all our companies to report on their energy usage, job growth, differential between the highest paid and lowest paid employees and their carbon impact. We produce an annual portfolio ESG report for our investors.
How are you a champion of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)?
Mizzen is 100 percent women-owned and has a diverse team of 11 people from different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities. Due to this diversity, Mizzen generates a large amount of deal flow from women and minority-owned companies. Mizzen has funded three women-owned companies and two Hispanic-owned companies totaling 21 percent of the portfolio as of December 2022.
How are you advancing the state of women?
Mizzen has brought in other women-owned funds and senior women at other credit funds to participate in three larger deals that we were syndicating. We try to use female partners or senior associates at law firms on documentation for our deals. We hired a female summer intern last summer and are looking to hire another woman for next summer. We are very involved in a number of women’s organizations to support and mentor women including Exponent Women, Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN) and ACG Women of Leadership.
For the full list of 2023 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, see here.
