In Conversation with Women in Alternatives: Nadine Buckland

As a part of our ongoing initiatives for our ‘Women in Alternatives’ programme, our Director of Funds and Corporate Nicola Le Brocq recently sat down with Nadine Buckland, Chief Executive Officer of Zenzic Capital.

What does being a CEO at Zenzic Capital entail? 

Being CEO of Zenzic is all encompassing, and no two days are the same!  My main focus is on capital raising and building relationships with key strategic partners. This can include sourcing funding lines, new fund investors or managed accounts, co-investment opportunities as well as managing the team and ensuring we are well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities we see in the market.

We run an opportunistic credit strategy at Zenzic. Investments range from residential development finance, which has built a reputation of being a key partner for SME developers across the UK, through to special situation-idiosyncratic transactions across Western Europe and everything in between. Aside from overseeing all capital raising activities, I am also heavily involved in all of our investments, from originating to onsite visits and through to execution.  As a member of the Zenzic Credit Committee, I am responsible for approving all transactions.

What do you consider to be the biggest challenges in the private markets?

It’s hard to be generic and apply a common standard to all private markets as the private market universe is exceptionally diverse. However if you were to try and do so, the most high-profile issue, certainly in private credit, is around valuation and with it investor reporting and volatility measurement that drives from it.

The biggest example of this currently is probably Pluralsight, where you have a collection of some of the largest private credit players with differing approaches to the carrying value of that credit. The valuation spread across the creditor group for the same credit implies a loss of nearly $280mn or just $50mn depending on which valuation proves to be most accurate. In what is still a relatively nascent asset class, the reliability of information will be key to investor confidence.

How do you deal with the highs and lows of your role and/or the industry? 

To navigate the highs and lows, I make it a point to celebrate the wins. It’s easy to overlook successes and quickly move on, but acknowledging these victories is crucial for both team morale and my own motivation.

Resilience is key, especially on days when a transaction isn’t progressing as planned or when a team member is facing challenges. The biggest challenge is managing those lows without letting them affect the rest of the team. I believe in projecting positivity and have honed the skill of compartmentalising, ensuring that setbacks don’t consume me or impact my leadership.

How have things changed for women in alternatives over the past 15 years you have been in the sector? 

While I believe the industry has made strides since I first joined, there is still much work to be done. It’s encouraging to see more initiatives supporting women, networking groups such as Women in Alts, Women in Finance, Global Female Investors Network, and 100 Women in Fund Finance provide valuable resources for networking, career development, and professional advocacy.

When it comes to DE&I, there have been notable advancements in the U.S., but Europe still lags behind. There is still insufficient dedicated capital for investing in female-led managers. I’m committed to doing more to encourage institutions to allocate resources and support these initiatives.

The unfortunate reality is that there still aren’t enough women launching their own firms, and this is something I’m deeply passionate about changing. I want to help more women take that step and succeed in leading their own ventures.

Have you had any influential mentors and how important do you think mentorship is?

I was inspired by my mum’s boss, Tracy Callaghan, who led the insolvency business at Baker Tilly. I had the opportunity to do work experience with her. In an industry that was overwhelmingly male at the time, she was a trailblazer, which was almost unheard of.  I’ll never forget the day she took me to TGI Fridays in Covent Garden in her soft-top BMW—I was in awe and wanted to be just like her! Tracy taught me the importance of looking and acting like a winner. We still keep in touch, and just two weeks ago, I had lunch with her and my mum. Tracy remains a trusted advisor and even introduced us to our first transaction at Zenzic back in 2014.

Steve Swallow has also played a key mentoring role at Zenzic. Early on, he was someone who not only helped us navigate transactions but also provided invaluable support and advice on broader business initiatives. His independent perspective and constant availability, whether morning, noon, or night, have been invaluable.

Mentorship is incredibly important to me; the mentors in my life have profoundly shaped both my career and how I approach challenges. At Zenzic, we’re proud to have recently become a supporter of GAIN, Girls Are Investors, and to be part of their internship program, helping to nurture the next generation of female investors.