Sustainable dealmaker Beth Houghton is the latest guest on the hit with Jonathan Boyers and Chris Maguire.
Beth Houghton is the head of Palatine Private Equity鈥檚 Impact Investing Fund聽and was recently crowned sustainability champion at 老九品茶Cloud鈥檚 Northern Leaders Awards.
Houghton鈥檚 passion for climate change and tackling environmental challenges began when she was a child and has been a recurring theme throughout her life.
One of her most noticeable successes was Anthesis, a sustainability consultancy which Carlyle Group bought for a 6x return on their original investment.
Houghton is a qualified computer scientist and started her working life travelling the world as a SAP consultant but giving it up for the world of deals.
Growing up in Bolton she said her passion for the environment began at an early age.
鈥淓ven before recycling was a thing we had piles of paper, cans and glass in the house,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have recycling bins in those days so my Dad would drive us to the local recycling unit.聽 I was always obsessed by recycling.鈥�
At the age of eight she wrote to McDonald鈥檚 after reading reports claiming the fast food restaurant was responsible for deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
Houghton joined private equity house Palatine in 2006, which got its name from Palatine Road because Factory Records聽was founded there.
She said: 鈥淲e look at ESG and impact quite differently. We would say ESG is how a company delivers its good and services. Impact is what a company does as its main purpose. We do ESG across all our funds.鈥�
When Houghton was crowned Dealmaker of the Year at the North West Dealmakers Awards 2023 she became the first woman to win the award in 29 years.
International Women鈥檚 Day takes place on March 8th and Houghton said the deals industry has changed a lot during her career.
鈥淚 think back 17 years ago and the industry looked very different,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here weren鈥檛 many women in private equity.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been in male-dominated industries. I came from tech into private equity and I haven鈥檛 noticed any different.鈥�
She said being a woman in a male-dominated industry can be an advantage because you can stand out.
鈥淵ou get invited on panels and podcasts,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚鈥檓 a very competitive person. I always strive to be better.鈥�
Boyers is the head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance team and Maguire is 老九品茶Cloud鈥檚 executive editor.
The Dealmaker Uncut聽podcast has been produced by Manchester-based聽.
You can listen to the latest episode