Mar 21, 2022, 4:20 PM ETConference Presentation, Fireside Chat

Tricia Glynn, Managing Director at Advent International

Tricia Glenn began her career as a Goldman Sachs analyst after initially pursuing a biochemistry PhD, citing a desire to combine data analysis with human interaction.
She joined Advent, where she is now a managing director, having closed transactions across retail, healthcare, real estate, and media sectors.
Glenn's career span includes working on 16 specific investments, with a focus on emerging disruptors in the consumer and retail sectors.
She transitioned from a "deal junkie" focusing on global variety to a specialized consumer retail strategist over the last 11–12 years.

Structure: Advent operates as a private partnership with 50 partners who retain autonomy while investing across a wide range of deal sizes, including minority stakes, carve-outs, and full buyouts.
Performance Focus: The firm prioritizes revenue growth as the primary driver, which subsequently leads to profit growth, rather than focusing on cost-cutting.
Deal Sizing: Advent invests in companies ranging from early-stage founders to established public entities like Lululemon (purchased in 2014).
Risk Appetite: The firm's philosophy mandates that every investment has the possibility of returning three to five times the capital, even if not probable, to generate above-average portfolio returns.
Capital Protection: Strategies account for downside scenarios by identifying controllable levers to preserve capital and protect employment.
Brand Stewardship: The "do no harm" rule governs brand scaling to ensure businesses and communities are built for long-term sustainability rather than short-term extraction.

Glenn defines "pearls" as businesses with exceptional talent, massive market opportunity, and a business model ready for the next growth phase, often requiring insight or support rather than just capital.
The firm builds multi-year relationships with these targets, emphasizing non-transactional, human-centric interactions to become the partner of choice.
Specific portfolio successes cited include Olaplex, Laura Mercier, and Lululemon, all viewed as brands requiring careful community cultivation.

Live Selling: Glenn notes China's live-selling market reached $170 billion in the prior year and is projected to reach $500 billion, positioning the U.S. as being in the early stages of similar adoption.
Retail Evolution: The sector is shifting from transaction-based sales to community-based experiences, requiring retailers to answer five fundamental questions about buyer motivation, satisfaction, and advocacy.
Technology Role: Technology is viewed strictly as an enabler to help consumers understand the brand's value proposition and community connection.

Market Conditions: While 2021 saw record-breaking M&A and IPOs (with Advent launching eight IPOs), Glenn anticipates a potential slowdown in 2022 due to lingering supply chain disruptions and unwinding pandemic effects.
Capital Deployment: The current environment features high rates of new business formation, available capital, and a mobile labor workforce, creating a unique window for disruptive investment.
Interest Rates & Inflation: The industry faces a pivot from a historically lowering interest rate environment, forcing a re-evaluation of asset pricing and fundamental analysis.
Labor Market: Record job turnover and "The Great Resignation" present an opportunity for portfolio companies to differentiate themselves as "employer of choice" with strong training and alumni networks.
ESG Integration: Advent established an ESG Center of Excellence to hold itself accountable for the climate and social evolution of its 80 companies and 400,000 employees.

Leadership Representation: Glenn highlights the stark disparity in leadership, noting only 18 of 2,000+ U.S. IPOs (2013–2020) were led by female founders, and only 23 female CEOs exist on the Fortune Global 500.
Systemic Change: She argues that gaining parity requires moving beyond representation to securing "money and power," specifically "actual seats at the table" for diverse professionals.
Portfolio Impact: Advent's portfolio companies, such as Olaplex, have achieved significant diversity milestones, with 9 of 11 board members being women and the management team being 70–80% diverse.
Internal Shifts: The 2020 racial equity movement accelerated internal dialogue, leading to new programs, goals, and a more listening-oriented culture within the firm.

Career Risks: Glenn cites leaving a senior position at Bain Capital for Advent as a significant mid-career risk, noting she had never experienced a loss greater than 2.2x in her career.
Risk Realization: Upon reviewing her track record, she identified a "fear of loss" that limited her risk-taking, prompting a shift toward more aggressive capital deployment to maximize "shots on goal."
Definition of Success: Her personal definition of success has evolved from proving her own competence to creating systemic impact and helping pivot the industry toward better outcomes.
Core Advice: The key takeaway for the audience is to be willing to "break glass" and be aggressive with resources to drive inflection in the industry, rather than relying on incremental change.