Learning the Importance of Adaptability and Building Relationships as Investment Bankers

Deal Us In

In this episode of Deal Us In, Amanda Verner Thompson and Vasanta Pundarika join host Kelsey Hitchcock to discuss their now sixteen-year-long career together in investment banking. After working at the same healthcare investment banking group through several acquisitions, the pair eventually went to work for Matrix Capital Markets Group where they built a brand new healthcare group: Healthcare Investment Banking.

From financial crises to the COVID pandemic, Amanda and Vasanta are no strangers to an unpredictable, unsteady environment. In fact, the two have grown to thrive on that, accepting challenge after challenge, adapting, and finding creative ways to still make deals for their clients.

The two talk about strategies for successful deals, as well as advice specifically for women trying to break into investment banking or simply trying to advance in their organizations.

Together, Amanda and Vasanta have navigated the ups and downs of investment banking and have come out on top. They offer insights into the power of both having mentors and being mentors, finding camaraderie amongst a team, and growing those relationships.

💡 Featured Guests 💡

Names: Amanda Verner Thompson and Vasanta Pundarika

What they do: As co-heads of Healthcare Investment Banking at Matrix Capital Markets Group, Amanda and Vasanta develop plans for new clients and manage all aspects of client transactions. They focus on health care services and managed care.

Company: Matrix Capital Markets Group

Where to find them: Amanda's LinkedIn | Vasanta's LinkedIn

🗝️ Key Points 🗝️

Top takeaways from this episode

Women in investment banking must stay on their toes — Investment banking requires flexibility and adaptability. Being a woman in the field requires that, and much more. Women in investment banking, according to Amanda and Vasanta, need to be smarter and work harder because it is such a male-dominated field.

There are benefits to being a woman in investment banking — Amanda and Vasanta cite their inherent emotional intelligence, multitasking skills, and mental prowess as women as some of their greatest assets in the field.

Volume drives trends — At the height of the COVID pandemic, many people steered away from hospitals and nursing homes, choosing smaller healthcare options to keep safe. Amanda and Vasanta say this is still a trend they are seeing today, one that they are very interested in. They anticipate more deal flows into smaller, privatized healthcare systems.

🎙️ About Deal Us In 🎙️

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