Women in Private Equity 2026

Fundraisers, dealmakers and founders who are opening doors for the next generation of women.

Our annual Women in Private Equity edition celebrates 10 stars in the industry. Leading the way is Marcie Frost, CEO of CalPERS. Her story, a young single mother without a college degree, is a testimony to determination, guts and an endless craving to learn new skills. Other members of the list have equally intriguing backgrounds, with some of them falling into private equity in serendipitous ways.

WOMEN IN PRIVATE EQUITY

Women in PE: The class of 2026

Featured

Karl Shmavonian -

1 April 2026

Marcie Frost rose from being a typist without a college degree to being CEO of CalPERS, the largest public pension fund in the US. She is one of 10 women on our list who exemplify what it takes to thrive in the world of private equity.

Who are some of the most prominent or up-and-coming women in private equity?

Here is an overview of our highlight Women in Private Equity 2026.

Marcie Frost, CEO at CalPERS
Marcie Frost started out as a teenage mother with a temp job as a typist. She would rise to become the CEO of the largest public pension in the US.
Jennifer Davis, partner at Bain Capital
Davis spent her first 10 years at Goldman in the bank’s Industrials Group before moving over to the consumer sector, which she heads up at Bain. “I knew more about bulldozers and draglines than I did consumer brands.”
Jennifer James, COO & head of investor relations & marketing at Thoma Bravo
The veteran software investor last year raised a combined $34.4 billion for three funds – all of them oversubscribed. She was hired by Bravo in 2015 to effectively build an IR function from scratch..
Katrina Liao, investment partner at Coller Capital
Liao never expected to be at the same firm for 15 years, but she has used her time well, originating and executing some of Coller’s largest GP-led and single asset deals.
Christen Paras, partner at MiddleGround Capital
Hired by MiddleGround in 2019, Paras was impressed by the firm: “I found the operator-led model to be a unique value proposition in industrials mid-market M&A. They were not afraid to do things diﬀerently, and I thought, ‘This will be fun.’ I’ve never looked back.”
Cathrin Petty, co-head of North American private equity at CVC Capital Partners
Petty studied science in college, but a summer job at JPMorgan drew her to finance. “I discovered pretty quickly I was never going to be Marie Curie and was too impatient to stay in the lab.”
Silvia Oteri, partner & head of healthcare at Permira
She started out in consulting, but when she went to grad school everybody was talking about private equity. “I was curious and decided to give it a try.”
Ellie Rubenstein, co-founder & managing partner at Manna Tree
The daughter of David Rubenstein, co-founder of Carlyle Group, she grew up watching her entrepreneurial parents create things, and she has followed in their footsteps: “I’ve always been the builder.”
Yangge Seaman, head of private investments at Children’s Health Foundation
Seaman’s career path started when she journeyed from her home in China to study at Notre Dame. “I became interested in endowments because I wanted to know where my scholarship money was coming from.”
Julia Wittlin, partner at RedBird Capital Partners
Wittlin has had investment oversight responsibilities in deals for investments such as Fenway Sports Group, Alpine and Dream 11. She also is one of the leads in RedBird’s college sports efforts.