Stephanie Smith

Global Chief Operating Officer, Equity Private Markets at BlackRock

Speaker

Stephanie P. Smith, Managing Director, is Global Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Equity Private Markets (EPM) and Head of Private Markets Platform for BlackRock. She is a member of the Equity Private Markets Executive Committee, C-20 Committee, Global Human Capital Committee, and other business committees including Investment & Trading Policy Oversight Committee, Americas Product Development Committee, Valuation Oversight Committee et al. Stephanie joined BlackRock in August 2021.

As global COO of EPM, Stephanie is responsible for the daily oversight and business operations for private markets equity investing at BlackRock, which encompasses direct private equity (including venture and growth equity strategies), infrastructure, real estate as well as secondaries. She provides dedicated leadership support across human capital, technology, and operational functions. Stephanie is also responsible for BlackRock's Private Markets Platform capabilities that drive the success of private markets equity, debt and multi-alternatives investment strategies across the firm. She partners with senior leaders to develop strategies and execute solutions across various client priorities, product types, investments, and technology platforms to support the ongoing growth of deployment, distribution, and deepen client partnerships.

Prior to BlackRock, Stephanie spent 21 years at Goldman Sachs, where she began her career on the Principal Strategies and Investment desk. During her time at Goldman Sachs, Stephanie held several leadership positions across many of their core businesses focused on business development, transformation, and operational oversight. Stephanie was named Managing Director in 2010 and Partner in 2018. Stephanie earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, ("BBA") in International Marketing and Finance from Baruch College, City University of New York. Stephanie serves on several civic, educational and community focused boards; notably: Brick Education Foundation, Apollo Theater, the Baruch College Fund (BCF), Trinity Hall School and Crown Heights Youth Initiative. Outside of work, Stephanie draws inspiration and sustains resilience from the partnership and support from her loving family including her husband Spencer and sons Michael and William.