Sunaina Sinha Haldea Is Smashing Private Equity’s Thick Glass Ceiling

Private equity has become a massive $4.4 trillion industry that could more than double by 2025. It has an outsized impact on our economy and our lives, sometimes controlling our water and electricity, our household brands, our roads, highways and trains, and even our schools, homes and places of work. Yet despite its reach and impact, the industry fails to come close to representing the population at large. Fewer than 10 percent of senior roles are held by women; at its upper echelons, that figure drops to a mere 5 percent. Sunaina Sinha Haldea, the managing partner at leading placement agent and secondary market advisor Cebile Capital, is chipping away at private equity’s thick glass ceiling and redefining what success looks like in this vitally important but poorly understood industry. 

Cebile Capital has offices in New York, Los Angeles and London and oversees billions of dollars in deal transactions per year across a spectrum of sectors, from technology to utilities and agriculture. In stark contrast to the industry as a whole, Haldea’s firm is highly diverse: More than half of the employees are women or minorities. “I saw an unmet need in the market for a private equity advisory firm that is solely focused on mid-market firms and that acts as a strategic partner—not just another service provider— to its private equity clients. We have achieved this by advising on a myriad of liquidity solutions and raising capital for successive funds, co-investments and direct deals for private equity general partners,” said Haldea on why she founded Cebile Capital. 

Although Hildea is a success now, entering the world of private equity was no easy feat. “Private equity is a heavily relationship-focused industry.  It is tough for any newcomer to establish herself with senior-level sponsorship in the industry. I accomplished this by showing tangible results and a successful deal track record very quickly out of the gates.  The centerpiece of my success both personally and professionally is turning clients into our biggest and best references and letting the work product speak for itself,” she shared. “Growing up in different cultures all over the world such as Asia and Africa made me versatile and resilient. Versatile because I had to learn to adapt and thrive in different cultures and with people from different walks of life. Resilient because living in different places and adapting to each location’s vagaries and challenges builds resiliency. Because of my background, I’ve found that I’m always able to connect with at least some of the people in any new environment. These skills have been central to my success in building and growing Cebile Capital over the past decade.”

Hildea credits meditation to keeping balanced in such a cutthroat industry, “I have been practicing vipassana meditation for over a decade.  No matter how busy I get, I always practice daily.  Meditation has given me a deeper perspective on life, has allowed me to keep my wits about me in a dynamic and aggressive industry, and has enabled me to keep playing the long game.  Ultimately, meditation teaches a deep acceptance that the only constant in life is change–learning how to accept it, adapt to it and navigate it has made me much more effective and centered in all aspects of my life.”

As far as tips for other women to enter the world of private equity Hildea has found a few ways to approach the industry, “There are a few different ways to have a career in private equity – as an investor, as part of a support function at a private equity firm, or as a deal advisor, which has been my calling. Across all roles, it’s important to remember that private equity is a long-term asset class. Each fund has a life of 10-12 years. It takes 4-6 years to invest a fund and then another 4-6 years to sell the businesses and harvest a return. Women need to take a long-term approach to stay with the industry through its cycles and funds and also with their careers. Fortunately, relationships last for years in this industry, so it is okay to off-ramp for a bit if desired as long as they establish a return plan with their firms.  As long as women pick the right firm, they will be able to come back and continue their rise.”

She also added to remember these three core tenets for making meetings successful. “First, ask smart questions, and do it right upfront, the more the clients talk, the more you listen and learn, and the better you can position your product to meet their needs. Second, demonstrate deep domain knowledge. People remember headlines and look for depth and gravitas in the person delivering them. They rarely remember the minutiae,” Hildea explained. “Third, don’t be afraid of saying “I don’t know. I’ll get back to you.”  Studies show that saying this simple phrase builds more credibility and trust than pretending to be a know-it-all.  No one has all of the answers all of the time. True subject matter experts understand that and know when to go deep—and when to do their homework and circle back with the answers.”

The innovation in the private equity secondaries market in the past five years has been unprecedented and exciting for secondaries deal practitioners like Cebile. “From unique single asset continuation vehicle deals to complex preferred equity transactions, private equity has seen a seismic change in the way financial sponsors and investors can access liquidity. This new deal technology has me jumping out of bed in the morning!” exclaimed Hildea. “We are working on a number of interesting secondary market transactions and raising capital for select top-tier private equity funds. Our next chapter is still entirely focused on becoming the private fund’s advisor of choice to the private equity mid-market in which there are thousands of firms around the world. It’s an exciting time with so much left to accomplish!”