Message from our Executive Management Committee
HarbourVest has prioritized building a diverse and inclusive environment that promotes mutual respect and acceptance among all team members, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnic origin, marital status, physical abilities, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or expression since its inception in 1982. Forty years later, we strive to uphold this proud legacy by cultivating a culture where everyone can be their full selves, have a true sense of belonging, and thrive.
This year, we are pleased to announce that Kelley King joined our team as the firm’s first Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer to work in partnership with senior leadership on continually improving our internal programs and pushing HarbourVest further forward as an industry leader in the DEI space. She will also lead our Diversity & Inclusion Council, which was established in 2019 and has since made tremendous progress driving continuous learning, ensuring we challenge ourselves, and reinforcing our core strengths through hiring, retention, and development initiatives. These ongoing efforts have helped us launch an internship program with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) and #10000BlackInterns as well as expand our network of external DEI-focused partners, many of whom participate in our Perspectives Speaker Series, a powerful learning tool for our global team.
Our dedication to these principles extends outside the firm as we remain committed to investing capital in support of emerging and diverse managers and under-resourced markets. We are engaged with organizations at the forefront of this important work at the industry level, including as a signatory of the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC) Diverse Alternative Investment Industry Statement and a founding signatory of the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) Diversity in Action Initiative.
We are proud of the progress we have made and humbled to have been named a Top 10 Most Inclusive PE Firm by Equality Group¹ and LP Diversity & Inclusion Leader of the Year by Real Deals² for our diversity and inclusion advocacy across the industry. As we look ahead in the spirit of deeper understanding and constant improvement, we are focused on DEI not just because it is the right thing to do but because it is core to who we are and essential to how we deliver for our clients.
As always, thank you for your partnership.
John Toomey and Peter Wilson
HarbourVest Executive Management Committee
1 As of March 2022. Equality Group’s Inclusive Top 20 PE & VC Index is a comprehensive evaluation tool that analyses fund performance on inclusion, diversity, and equity over the past 12 months. The Index includes 400 global private equity and venture capital groups each with a minimum of $1bn in assets under management. The data is sourced from multiple publicly available information sites, including fund websites, social media channels, published articles and reports. The index covers six core categories: leadership, actions and policies, work-life balance, inclusive team, explicit I&D support and additional public information. Within these categories, there are a total of 22 inclusion and diversity sub metrics. There are a total of 45 points available in the Inclusive Index. Equality Group has applied variable weightings to individual categories to reflect the most impactful data points across the core categories, as informed by the latest academic research.
2 D&I category nominations are put forward by Real Deals’ panel of LP judges who then deliberate on the winner. This award recognizes excellence in the LP communities with respect to companies who have made a real difference to improving D&I within their firm, at portfolio company level and in the wider investment community. For more information on the award and methodology visit: https://lnkd.in/eNWkjBAF
Managing Directors John Toomey (left) and Peter Wilson
"We believe, we know, that our business is fundamentally better by having greater diversity of experience and thought so we can capture that collective wisdom and make the best possible decisions for our clients.”
John Toomey
“No matter where we are in our careers, or what we may think we know about a certain topic – we need to bring an open mind to every conversation and truly listen to one another.”
Peter Wilson