Sarah Woodard

When I finished school I went to study medicine, thinking I would be a doctor for the rest of my life.

However, two years into the degree I realised this was not the career path for me and went to Bristol University to study International Business Management. Not afraid of challenges, I sought new encounters and was exposed to the world of finance and never looked back.

My first experience of finance was through University Societies. I had the privilege of being President of the Women in Finance Society for two consecutive years and led the Society to being awarded ‘The Most Inspiring Committee’ by the Bristol Students’ Union and ‘The Most Improved Society’ at the NUS National Societies Awards. I launched a mentoring scheme, which helped the Society membership base to grow by 122%, and I continue to be a strong advocate of the benefits of mentoring.

Having completed a Spring and a Summer Internship, I joined Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) in the Summer of 2019. I worked as an analyst on the UK and Ireland Institutional team, focussed on maintaining and strengthening existing relationships with corporate pension funds and endowments. When COVID hit six months into my career I noticed there was a lack of events for juniors to address the impact of the pandemic. I sought to address this scarcity by launching a Future Leaders call series; inviting junior clients and colleagues to share experiences and receive virtual coaching sessions to help navigate the pandemic. My idea was awarded the ‘GSAM 2020 Differentiated Client Engagement Award’ and the initiative has since been rolled out globally across America, Asia and Australia.

An exciting opportunity to move into the world of Private Markets came in 2021 and I joined H.I.G. Capital. I am part of the Capital Formation Group and work with European and Middle Eastern clients to raise funds across the H.I.G. platform. I am committed to improving gender diversity within the firm and am collaborating to launch equity, diversity & inclusion training for employees.

My commitment to gender diversity in financial services extends to my volunteering work through my role as Co-Chair of the Future Leaders Shadow Board of the Women in Banking & Finance Organisation (WIBF). I am currently driving the development of a Future Leaders Network, to connect junior females across the industry, and a Graduate Engagement Strategy, to widen the pool of female talent applying for finance jobs.