In this episode of Women on Top with Haleh Moddasser, we speak with Beata Kirr, Managing Director, and Chief Impact Officer for The Copia Group (TCG), a private investment firm providing capital solutions for lower middle market companies. 

Beata explains that investing in minority led companies provides a mechanism to directly impact issues surrounding race and gender inequality at a time when ESG investing appears to have overpromised and under-delivered. This type of thematic investment approach is especially useful for women investors, the overwhelming majority of whom want to invest in alignment with their values.

Prior to joining TCG, Beata held investment roles at some of the top wall street financial firms and hedge funds. While at Bernstein Private Wealth, Beata spearheaded Bernstein Impact Alternatives, delivering customized access to private equity and venture capital strategies focused on environmental sustainability, health equity and economic opportunity. Beata is also a passionate supporter of women in finance.

Beata holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.

Take off the tiara and embrace leadership, says Dr. Patricia Rivera

Dr. Patricia Rivera is the president-elect for the American Thoracic Society and a professor of medicine in the division of pulmonary diseases and critical care medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She lived in Cuba and Colombia before emigrating to the United States and spent her early years in New York. After graduating from Pace University with a BS in Biology in 1981, and the Stony Brook School of Medicine in Stony Brook, New York with an MD in 1985, she spent more than 27 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Rivera attained the rank of professor of medicine with tenure at UNC and held many leadership positions, including founding and directing the university’s multidisciplinary lung cancer screening program.

In this episode of Women on Top with Haleh Moddasser, Dr. Rivera explains how important it is to reach for roles that you believe you can do, even if you don’t meet all the outlined criteria. She describes what it’s like for women working in the medical profession and the importance of having strong sponsors and mentors. She relates how she was fortunate to receive guidance from other women in leadership positions and was encouraged to keep reaching for higher goals, even though she’s a woman of minority in a male dominated industry. Listen to Dr. Rivera describe her tale of taking off the tiara, a phrase meant to encourage women to seek positions and recognize nothing will be just handed out.

Mahsa Hakimi is the founder of Hakimi Law PC, a boutique business and intellectual property law firm in San Francisco focused on protecting the creative talent and legal interests of artists and entrepreneurs. She has served on the board of various non-profit organizations, including as the inaugural Executive Co-chair of Castro LGBTQ Cultural District. She is also a member of the San Francisco Planning Department Community Equity Advisory Council and is a part of the Art Rise Collective’s organizational committee.

Ms. Hakimi, an Iranian American, moved to the United States at age 15, shortly after the hostage crisis in Iran. In this interview she discusses the challenges growing up and assimilating to the U.S. from Iran. She also talks about her involvement with the Art Rise Collective exhibit “Women Life Freedom,” eponymously named for the courageous human rights protests that women are leading in Iran. As a gesture of solidarity, exhibit artists created works that reflect the movement’s intersectional message of Women, Life and Freedom. Please join us and watch this inspirational interview.

Carolyn Saacke is the Head of Financial Sponsor Coverage at the New York Stock Exchange where she maintains relationships with private equity, venture capital, legal, investment banking and advisory firms for the benefit of capital markets and listed company teams.

In this episode of Women on Top with Haleh Moddasser, our guest explains the drop in the number of IPOs in 2022 following a robust 2021; the definition of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC)s; and expectations for rates of return in the stock market. Carolyn and Haleh also talk about what it’s like for women working in the financial profession.

Julie Castro Abrams is the managing partner at How Women Invest, an early-stage venture firm focused on the intersection of female founders and female investors. She is also the CEO of How Women Lead, a network of executive women working to increase female leadership representation on boards and more.

Julie engages with Women on Top with Haleh Moddasser about women supporting other women through venture funds. Julie debunks myths about women investors, demystifies terminology associated with venture funds, and describes the stages of a company and the investment risk level associated with each stage.

Jaime Davis is a Board-Certified Family Law Specialist, Certified Family Financial Mediator and Certified Parenting Coordinator. The co-managing partner at Gailor Hunt Davis Taylor & Gibbs, PLLC in Raleigh, NC was selected to Super Lawyers in 2019 and named to Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite in Family Law in 2018 and 2019. Jaime is the podcast host of A Year and a Day: Divorce Without Destruction and author of a book by the same name.

Jaime sits down with Women on Top with Haleh Moddasser to discuss the current state of divorce, why what looks fair on paper is not necessarily what is best for your long-term, and the reality of gray divorce. She and Haleh explain the value of working with a team of professionals who each advise on very specific but vital areas for your overall wellness during a divorce.

Helai Hesham is a board-certified doctor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, subspecializing in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery. She is an assistant professor of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed her fellowship at Harvard Medical School Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Hesham sits down with Women on Top with Haleh Moddasser to discuss her experience as a young Afghan refugee, the impact of being raised by a strong female doctor, what Covid revealed about healthcare in the U.S., plus her passion for helping women in poverty.

Stephanie Link is chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower, a national wealth management firm. When she started her career in finance, Stephanie was just 1 of 3 women on a floor of over 500 working on a trading desk, where they couldn’t wear pantsuits or sleeveless anything, but certainly had to wear stockings no matter the temperature. She and Haleh discuss how much has changed since then, the power of learning from life’s challenges, and the “real” Jim Cramer.

Prior to joining Hightower, Stephanie was the senior managing director and head of global equities research at Nuveen, where she co-managed the CREF Stock Variable Annuity Portfolio with $170 billion in assets, managed her own US Core portfolio with $3.7 billion in assets and oversaw a team of investment professionals who collectively managed $40 billion. Before joining Nuveen, she spent seven years at TheStreet as Chief Investment Officer and co-portfolio manager of Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust. Before that, she was at Prudential Equity Group and Dean Witter Reynolds.

With so much experience, Stephanie’s insights are frequently sought after for industry events and by the media. You might recognize her from The Halftime Report, Closing Bell and Squawk Box.

Hightower Advisors, LLC is an SEC registered Investment advisor. Securities are offered through Hightower Securities, LLC, Member FINRA/SPIC.

In this important episode, Haleh is riveted by her conversation with Tracy MacNeal, President and CEO at Materna Medical, a medical device company devoted to improving women’s pelvic health through technology and empowerment. The two discuss the historical lack of medical research specifically done on women, the embarrassment associated with pelvic conditions, and the role technology is playing to transform women’s health care. Do you know the signs of woman having a heart attack? Listen and learn, because it is not the same as a man’s symptoms!

Holding a BE in Chemical Engineering from The Cooper Union and an MBA from Duke, Tracy has over 20 years in pharmaceuticals, digital health and medical devices. A deep believer in the importance of contribution and collaboration within our shared healthcare ecosystem, she also serves as national Chair for Advamed’s Women’s Executive Network, amplifying the voices of women leaders who are creating the future of healthcare. Did we mention she’s a North Carolina native…born and raised?

Haleh speaks with Jean Marie Clarke, Founder of Pax Philomena a clothing brand that fuses rich, Indian block prints and timeless Italian style to create beauty, color and comfort in clothing.

Jean talks about growing up in Calcutta, India to Anglo-Indian parents, whose families had been living in India for five generations. Haleh and Jean share their experiences of immigrating to the United States and growing up in different societies and cultures and that has shaped their views.

Jean shares her inspiration for Pax Philomena and the struggles she faced getting her business off the ground. As part of Jean Marie's mission, a portion of all Pax Philomena proceeds go to Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity who continue to serve others and spread peace in America, India, and throughout the world.