Influential Businesswoman Awards 2018

Acquisition International - 2018 Influential Businesswoman Awards 7 IW180041 Corporate Finance Marketing Leader of the Year 2018 - United Kingdom Alantra Alantra is an innovative global company that advises business owners, management teams and investors on all aspects of corporate finance. In October 2017, Catalyst Corporate Finance merged with Alantra and formally rebranded as Alantra in April 2018, offering clients around the world unrivalled support and a vast array of services. This merger has offered many opportunities for Emma, who, as Head of Marketing for the firm’s UK team, has worked hard as part of the effort to rebrand the firm and support its clients through this change. She outlines her role in more detail. “Personally, I am responsible for promoting Alantra to our potential client base, creating relevant and innovative content which demonstrates our expertise and what we have achieved for our clients. Prior to my role here I worked in financial services, and have been in this sector for my entire career. I spent over ten years working for an investment management firm, also in marketing. That business is what I now know to be a typical Alantra client, and that has given me an insight into what it takes for our clients to build a successful company: clarity of purpose, having the right people in place at all levels of the business, understanding clients and exceeding their expectations. I joined just ahead of a new CEO who had a vision to transform the business. Despite considerable challenges, we achieved that vision, and then some, ultimately securing private equity investment to reward shareholders (the company was 100% employee-owned, so everyone benefited) and fund the next stage of growth. “Today, I draw on this vast experience in my current role to support my firm. When I joined Catalyst Corporate Finance in 2012 I was responsible for writing our M&A commentaries and sector research reports and my role gradually broadened into a full marketing one. Ultimately, I am trying to help win new clients for Alantra, and this is a role I take very seriously. I use this experience and my understanding of our potential clients to create marketing campaigns and materials that will speak to them.” Drawing on her vast experience in the corporate finance space, Emma understands the role of women in this traditionally male dominated space, and explores how things are slowly changing for the better, as well as what more needs to be done to make the space easier for women to thrive. “W ithin the corporate finance space, men continue to dominate the industry and dominate hiring decisions. What is different now from when I started my career is the attention being devoted to the lack of women in the industry, it has become a daily conversation with women, and men, challenging the status quo. It is not just about gender balance, it is also about attracting and retaining talented individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds. Unfortunately, there’s still a long way to go. “However, marketing is different to other fields in corporate finance and financial services more broadly as there is often a high proportion of women in marketing functions compared to the investment bankers working directly with clients on deals. The challenge is to progress beyond a head of marketing level to more senior roles within the business. With regards to the future, Emma is looking forward to many invigorating opportunities for further success and growth for both herself and her firm, as she is proud to conclude. “Looking ahead, the coming years are going to be very exciting, both for my career and for Alantra. We think there will be only four or five global mid- market investment banks and we want to be one of them. The UK is a key market for us and delivering an innovative marketing strategy to help achieve our ambitions is going to be important and a great challenge for me, which I am excited to meet.” Alantra is a global investment bank with offices across Europe, the US, Asia and Latin America. The firm’s UK Head of Marketing Emma Dowson talks us through her role in the firm’s success. Company: Alantra Contact: Emma Dowson Address: 77 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4AY, UK Phone: 020 7246 0500 Web Address: www.uk.alantra.com