Marc Rowan, senior leaders speak to Wharton about culture, female leadership

CEO Marc Rowan delivered the keynote at the inaugural conference of Wharton Women in Investing (WWIN), a networking forum for students, alumni and LPs that seeks to improve gender diversity within the industry. Apollo was also broadly represented by senior leadership across the Firm.

CEO Marc Rowan delivered the keynote at the inaugural conference of Wharton Women in Investing (WWIN), a networking forum for students, alumni and LPs that seeks to improve gender diversity within the industry. Apollo was also broadly represented by senior leadership across the Firm.

Our CEO Marc Rowan delivered an engaging keynote at the inaugural conference of Wharton Women in Investing (WWIN), a networking forum for students, alumni, and LPs that seeks to improve gender diversity within the investing industry. Apollo was the anchor sponsor of this event, and senior leaders Christine Hommes, Tracey Gamble, Joanna Reiss, Olivia Wassenaar and Scott Kleinman, also participated in various panels that day.

Addressing more than 200 attendees, Marc first provided a backdrop of the rapidly changing industry and the powerful trends driving growth in alternative assets, including the abundance of capital, direct origination, and an evolving customer base. While we strive to generate excess return for our clients, Marc highlighted that our real value-add is judgment.

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast every day,” he said. “If we don’t recognize the importance and centrality of culture, the one product we offer our clients – judgment – will fall by the wayside.”

Emphasizing how important female leadership is to the success of the firm, Marc added: “We have to construct an organization that is exciting to you, to be there for 25 years, to spend the entirety of your career... We want being a partner at Apollo to be the single most attractive thing in the industry.”

Turning to opportunity more broadly, he shared his thoughts about what unites us and how we can impact change.

“Expanding opportunity is how we define our culture, how we become more inclusive, how we progress and really maintain a diverse population across Apollo,” Marc said. “It feels very authentic.”

Apollo was also broadly represented by senior leadership across the firm:

• Partner Christine Hommes joined peers from Blackstone, Advent International and Kirkland & Ellis on a Private Equity panel, where she discussed today’s investing landscape, deal flow and upcoming trends.
• Managing Director Tracey Gamble participated in a Real Estate fireside chat, where she and a peer from Goldman Sachs discussed the real estate investing environment, the investment process, and the state of the modern workplace.
• Partner and Co-Head of Impact Joanna Reiss spoke on an Impact Investing panel, joined by peers from Bain, Syntrinsic, and Quona. Topics included putting impact frameworks into practice and identifying deal opportunities.
• Co-President Scott Kleinman moderated a panel on LP Perspectives, outlining current LP trends and opportunities with senior women from Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and StepStone.
• Rounding out the event, Partner, Head of Sustainable Investing and Co-Lead of Natural Resources Olivia Wassenaar moderated a fireside chat with Sallie Krawcheck, Chair of Ellevate Network.