“This job demands an unusual mix of patience and impatience.”
Liz Jones started out in private equity in 1997 – and has relished every day since. Her role has always sparked joy for her, and she believes becoming a parent made her a better investor. Here Liz describes the ‘enormous privilege’ of being an investment partner, predominantly in the healthcare sector. And how her history background has made her a balanced judge when it comes to deal-making.
Q. What’s most rewarding about your job?
A career in private equity means there is no ‘normal’. My husband often says to me he couldn’t do my job because it involves so many different things all at once. From board meetings, investment, and risk committees, to chatting to companies we might invest in in the future – this variety is rewarding and stimulating and often keeps people hooked for long careers. And you never stop learning – such as from inspiring entrepreneurs who are disrupting and innovating. There are often personal circumstances that have driven them to create their business. And it’s a huge privilege to be part of that journey.
Q. What clinches the deal when investing in businesses?
Relationships really are at the heart of what we do. At Livingbridge, it’s our mission to build and embed those relationships well ahead of when an entrepreneur might want to bring in an institutional investor partner. I’ve known some businesses for ten years before we invested, sometimes sitting on the board. Others may be a two- or three-year courtship. This builds trust and when they have a need for an external investor, you’re more likely to become the partner of choice. The most rewarding things I’ve been involved with have been when the relationship goes back years.
Q. What attributes do you need to succeed in this industry?
Entrepreneurial spirit is in my DNA. My parents ran a milk round for 30 years – so I grew up with that around me, as our home was their HQ. You do need an unusual mix of patience and impatience. The impatience to be restless, but also the patience to build up relationships over time; those relationships don’t convert into deals overnight. If you’re somebody who needs instant gratification, you’ll get very frustrated in this job. And it’s all about the timing.
Q. You studied history at university – how has that helped hone your skills into a private equity investor?
Ultimately what you’re trying to do is assimilate lots of information. When you’re making an investment judgement, you’re trying to bring together lots of information, almost too much information, and distil it into a balanced judgement. And those judgments are never black and white, they’re invariably grey. In private equity, you are taking a risk. Any presentation to investment committee where you’re saying this is an outstanding opportunity needs the confidence to weigh up the positives, the negatives and then on balance, your recommendation. It’s that ability to take your colleagues with you on that journey of judgement, conviction, passion, and evidence. Yeah. The why you want to do this deal? That will always be a nuanced judgement.
Q. How has the landscape for women in private equity changed during your 26 years in the game?
If you’d met me ten years ago, my answer would be to just get on with it. I appreciate that’s controversial and a bit abrupt. But I’ve been so fortunate to be in an incredibly diverse firm. A third of our Partners are women. I didn’t go to women’s events as they slightly jarred with me; I was perhaps blinded to or shielded from the realities other women were facing. I was also not convinced that I had to offer was valuable. But…I’ve changed my tune since then, as I’ve come to realise that there’s a role for passing on my knowledge and experiences of how this career has worked for me. And I’ve been a mentor for Level 20 for the past few years and it’s been an eye-opener. I now talk to women in their late 20s, who are struggling to see a path through. And that’s why I’ve become far more interested in coaching and mentoring more recently, because I can see it makes a difference.
Q. As a mentor, what are the biggest concerns you hear from younger peers?
A lot of women say to me: ‘All I can see is a female parachuted in at the top, but I can’t see any women in the middle ranks.’ And that’s hard, because they can’t tell what their life will be like in five to ten years’ time – when they might want to start a family. And that’s the brutal truth. But I tell everyone I speak to that this job is completely compatible with having children. You need a support network around you; of that there’s no doubt. I hear stories from women who are helping write maternity policies for their firms. So, there’s clearly much work still to be done.
Q. How did becoming a parent affect your role as an investor?
Actually, becoming a parent made me a better investor because it made me raw, more rounded, somehow – and it gave me something else to talk about. With regards to gender equality, is that it’s not just a women thing. This about creating cultures that support parenting. But it’s a balance, isn’t it? We work hard and we can’t control our time in the way that you might be able to do in other careers. But I’ve seen so many people at Livingbridge combine being a brilliant parent with being a brilliant investor. And I think the two are completely compatible.
Q. Does your career still spark joy?
It’s a long-term game, but one that, if you enjoy it and are good at it, is an incredibly privileged career. You get to meet extraordinary people; you sit on boards and be part of the transformation journey of a company. For me, I see businesses now that I backed 20 years ago – one of them is in its fourth round of private equity ownership. And I was the first investor in that business. So that is brilliant. Often for us, it’s about empowering entrepreneurs to do things that perhaps on their own would be much bigger or riskier calls. And that’s a huge joy.
