Private Equity People - a Q&A with Fiona Moore, Head of ESG at ECI Partners

Welcome to BDO’s Private Equity People series, where we speak to some of the most interesting figures from across the private equity industry to hear their insights and share their experiences. Inspired by recent studies showing there is still far more to be done to encourage diversity in private equity, the aim is to create a platform to showcase a broad range of role models who are successful founders, investors, private equity professionals, Chairs and entrepreneurs.

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Intellectual curiosity is the priority

In the latest instalment of our Private Equity People series, we speak to Fiona Moore, head of ESG at ECI Partners, on getting into the industry without a background in finance, her work on marketing and ESG, and the benefits a more diverse workforce brings.

“There needs to be a culture of accountability. Firms need to be able to self-critique and embrace a growth mindset.” Fiona Moore, Head of ESG at ECI Partners

Fiona Moore is head of ESG at ECI Partners, which focuses on the mid-market by investing in fast-growing companies with a value of up to £300m, and has offices in London, Manchester and New York.

She also has a background in marketing and is host of ECI’s Building Successful Businesses podcast. She sits on ECI’s ESG Committee and in that role, she is leading initiatives including ECI’s application for B Corp accreditation, which designates that a company meets verified high standards of performance, accountability and transparency in sustainability.

How did you get your start in the private equity industry?

After a degree in history and politics at Oxford, Moore is open about the fact that “I didn’t know what I was going to do.” She tried her hand at music journalism and started working for an estate agent, where she first became interested in marketing. She then moved to a marketing role at a barristers’ chambers and from there, a recruiter suggested private equity. She joined Livingbridge, also a mid-market firm, in 2016 and joined ECI as head of marketing in 2020.

“I think when I left university, not knowing what I wanted to do really felt like a failure, especially when a lot of people around me knew exactly what they were going to do,” she says. “But actually, it led to my career because I have been able to grab every opportunity and find things that are interesting to me and keep moving. You often end up in a much better place when you can convince people you can move laterally. If you're hungry and you're capable, you'll be quite surprised where you end up.”

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Moore considers the question. “I'd say you don't need to follow the same career path as everyone else. Career advice can actually be quite flawed in that there's no point in trying to plan everything before you know what really grabs your curiosity. When I left university, I saw everyone going into very high flying grad roles, and I was couch surfing and trying to do music journalism. But I ended up in a front-of-house role in an estate agents before convincing them to let me have a go at marketing. Who would have thought a career would be launched from there, but if I had tried my hand at it without exploring different routes first, it probably wouldn’t have been right.”

Have you faced any notable challenges or opportunities in your career

“Quite a few times in my career, I've had to really push myself out of my comfort zone. It's a challenge because you're really having to stretch yourself and there's always an option to be shy and think, someone else can do that. But what I’ve found is that it’s challenges that often turns into the greatest opportunity,” Moore reflects.

“When I look back at the times I’ve done this, they are the most rewarding parts of my career. It is probably a cliché, but it’s true.”

What is it about private equity that keeps your interest?

For everyone working in private equity, including the investment teams but also marketing, investor relations, data analytics, and increasingly ESG, specialists, “no day is the same for anyone in any of those roles,” says Moore.

“I think private equity is a really good industry for people who are intellectually curious and like building relationships,” she adds. “Essentially, I love finding out about new stuff. From a marketing point of view, one day I would have been researching the Internet of Things, and the next day I might be hosting the podcast. In my ESG role, one day I might be assessing carbon offsetting and then the next I'm looking into best practice in diversity and inclusion strategies.”

When it comes to hiring for her own department, recruiting a person who thrives on this type of variety is a bigger priority than previous experience in the finance or private equity sector, Moore adds.

“Finding someone who’s curious and self-motivated, that’s far more important. You can teach private equity to people,” she says. “Having gone through it myself, it is a steep learning curve, but it’s not beyond comprehension.”

What ESG initiatives does ECI have in place to help drive diversity & inclusion, both internally and for its portfolio?

Looking at her own firm first, ECI has a diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategy that covers its recruitment policies, plus commitments to training and mentoring, and targets which have been agreed upon at board level, says Moore. Progress on D&I is discussed at the ESG committee meeting she attends each month. The firm has also recently appointed a growth specialist focused on People & Culture, Lesley Davies, who has HR leadership experience from companies including Marks & Spencer and Three, to be on hand to advise ECI’s portfolio companies on employee engagement and D&I.

“The super important thing I think, is making sure we continue to improve,” says Moore. “We don’t rest on our laurels with it.”

Across the private equity industry, diversity initiatives up to this point have largely focused on achieving a better gender balance, but Moore says the time is ripe for change in other areas, including race, sexuality and socio-economic background.

“I think we will see progress being made, but I do think as well, it will be slower than anyone would like,” she adds.

One of the reasons for this is that people tend to stay in private equity and have long careers, which has many benefits for firms. However, “the downside is that it is really hard to change at pace the whole makeup of a team,” says Moore.

Despite this, Moore sees signs that new ways of thinking about diversity are entering the mainstream: “I think people are definitely starting to make the shift mentally, that you need someone who thinks differently to you to be additive.”

The great existential risk of falling behind is losing relevance with prospects.

“The world we operate in is diverse, and I wouldn't be surprised if, in the next decade, management teams say they only want to speak to private equity firms who have diverse  teams themselves,” she adds. “That may become more formalised in terms of companies setting a minimum standard. Once it becomes quite tangible in that way, it will massively accelerate progress.”

As head of ESG at ECI, what do you think it will take to improve diversity (of all kinds) in private equity, what are the benefits and what do you think we will see change in coming years?

“You need to have support at leadership level for change and it needs to be really clear who the champion is and that everyone's committed to it. And secondly, I think when it comes to recruitment processes, everyone should assess themselves really critically to understand: Is this supportive of D&I? Can the talent pool be opened up? Can it be further widened?

“Inclusivity is not always organic, and actively needs to be nurtured. Making sure you have a zero tolerance of bad behaviour in addition to a really proactive approach to positive steps like good return to work policies is essential. It’s also key to make sure people have channels through which they can share issues which can be incorporated into your assessment processes as well, so inclusivity is part of how people are assessed in their role.

“And then lastly, I think there needs to be a culture of accountability. Firms need to be able to self-critique and embrace a growth mindset. Even if you're good at this, you can still improve. Leaders need to make sure everyone feels comfortable holding themselves and others to account. It's a sensitive space so I think once you can switch from a blame and criticism mode to the focus on improvement and growth, that's when we will see real change.”

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