CHICAGO, IL – February 15, 2022 – Adams Street Partners, LLC, a private markets investment firm with over $51 billion of assets under management, marked the beginning of its 50th year with the launch of a program aimed at boosting opportunities for college graduates from diverse backgrounds to forge successful careers in private markets.
A year of anniversary activities begins with the announcement of an agreement to provide $150,000 over three years to support the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
The Deese College of Business and Economics has approximately 1,800 students, 87% of whom are black and 95% of whom are from underrepresented populations. Deese is one of the top-ranked undergraduate and graduate business programs among public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), according to U.S. News and World Report rankings.
Adams Street has over 50 active Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee members dedicated to increasing diversity within the financial markets by expanding access, contributing to educational initiatives, and engaging staff in outreach opportunities.
“More than 60% of new hires at Adams Street over the last five years were women or came from diverse backgrounds,” said Managing Partner and Head of Investments Jeffrey Diehl. “As our industry and the global economy become increasingly complex, diverse perspectives become even more critical to our ability to design solutions intended to address our clients’ evolving needs and investment goals.”
Adams Street enters its sixth decade following record growth in recent years for the firm, which is employee-owned since 2001.
“Anniversaries are a time for reflection and gratitude, and we’re deeply appreciative for the continuing support and trust of our clients,” Diehl added. “We want to reward that faith by leading with foresight for another 50 years of investment in private companies and sectors that we believe stand to benefit from dislocation, change, and growth.”
Adams Street began direct investing as a unit of First National Bank of Chicago in 1972. The company created the industry’s first Fund of Funds in 1979, the first separately managed account five years later, and the first secondaries market investment in 1986. It was spun out as Brinson Partners Inc. in 1989, and six years later joined Swiss Bank Corp. (subsequently UBS AG), before becoming an independent, 100% employee-owned entity in 2001.
Today, Adams Street has a global private markets investment platform that encompasses primaries, secondaries, co-investments, and growth equity, along with private credit strategies.
Adams Street Partners is a global private markets investment manager with investments in more than 30 countries across five continents. The firm is 100% employee-owned and has over $51 billion in assets under management. Adams Street strives to generate actionable investment insights across market cycles by drawing on 50 years of private markets experience, proprietary intelligence, and trusted relationships. Adams Street has offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, London, Menlo Park, Munich, New York, Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo. Visit www.adamsstreetpartners.com
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is the nation’s largest historically Black university, as well as its top ranked (Money magazine, Best Colleges; Washington Monthly College Guide and Rankings). It is a land-grant, doctoral university, classified as “high research” by the Carnegie Foundation and a constituent member of the University of North Carolina System. A&T is known for its leadership in producing graduates in engineering, agriculture and other STEM fields. The university was founded in 1891 and is located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Visit www.ncat.edu
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