Lessons from March Madness – Winning with DEI in Private Equity

  • Private equity
  • 3/30/2022

Oh boy…March Madness 2022. Finally, a bit of normalcy for this year’s Women’s and Men’s tournament. It was great connecting with co-workers and cli...

Oh boy…March Madness 2022. Finally, a bit of normalcy for this year’s Women’s and Men’s tournament. It was great connecting with co-workers and clients to talk about the games. This year, more than other years I found myself reflecting on the lessons of March Madness.

Coming into the final four weekend, I ask, what was your favorite game? Who was the Cinderella team of the tournament? Finally what lessons can we learn from these answers?

For me, hands down the best game I watched in March was the Women’s UConn vs. N.C. State basketball game. It was a thrilling double-overtime affair that was just an amazing game, a great showcase for Women’s basketball.

Hands down, the 2022 March Madness Cinderella team for me was Saint Peter’s. A number 15 seed, that had never won a March Madness basketball game. They became the first number 15 seed to make it to the Elite Eight round and even though it came to a crashing end against North Carolina, we can take a lot a lessons from this amazing run.

There are a number of lessons we can take from the above three teams. The theme and lesson I keep thinking about is talent management. At CLA what we have seen is that in the wake of recent social justice movements, the private equity (PE) industry has begun to bring the same attention and rigor to addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as it does to doing deals.

But significant progress has yet to show up in industry-wide statistics. The reasons are many, but in short: DEI is a massive undertaking that requires fundamentally rethinking the entire employee lifecycle through a diversity lens — from recruiting to engagement to departure and beyond.

DEI is a crucial and dynamic topic that continues to evolve. Accordingly, at CLA we believe that DEI can help us all win and help us all have an impact. Therefore, we plan to capture insights learned from the progress being made across the PE industry and share so we can win together.

This blog contains general information and does not constitute the rendering of legal, accounting, investment, tax, or other professional services. Consult with your advisors regarding the applicability of this content to your specific circumstances.

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