Atominvest's inaugural Empowering Women in Private Markets event: New York City recap. 3 minutes read Muriam MacIntosh What is on this page. Last month, Atominvest hosted its inaugural Empowering Women in Private Markets event in New York City. Held at one of the city's leading private members' clubs, the evening brought together over 60+ senior women across private equity, private credit, asset management, and fund operations for an afternoon of candid conversation and genuine peer connection. Attendees represented some of the most respected names in the industry, including Hamilton Lane, Apax Partners, Wellington Management, Advent International, Platinum Equity, JPMorgan, and Bonaccord Capital. Teams from The Riverside Company, Lead Edge Capital, Kudu Investment Management, GQG Partners, MUFG, State Street, EisnerAmper, and Citco Fund Services were also in the room, alongside many others. IR in 2026. The IR panel featured Tatiana Robinson, Associate Director at GQG Partners, and Sophia Kolodzinski, Senior Associate at Bonaccord Capital Partners. The conversation explored how investor relations has evolved from a support function into a strategic nerve center. Panelists discussed what it means to run IR at scale with lean teams, the shift toward always-on client relationships, and how the bar for LP experience has fundamentally moved. Key themes included the growing importance of operational due diligence in investor decisions, the tension between scalability and personalization, and what it takes to build IR infrastructure that can support new fund launches and product expansion. The conversation also turned to the next five years and scalability. How do lean IR teams build the infrastructure to support new fund launches and an expanding LP base without simply adding headcount? The answer, panellists agreed, lies in process discipline, smart vendor selection, and technology that removes friction without removing the human touch. AI and technology: where adoption is actually happening. The second panel brought together Sam Leandri, Managing Director at Hamilton Lane; Isabela Nassif, Principal at PACT Capital Partners; Alli Barnes, Director at Alpha Alternatives; and Laila Hasan, Client Service Executive at JPMorgan. The discussion tackled how firms are approaching technology and AI in practice, covering build vs. buy decisions, where automation is delivering real efficiency gains, and how to balance operational improvement with the relationship-driven nature of private markets. Panelists were direct about the hype. Every service provider claims to be the next best thing. What separates firms extracting real value is discipline: strong vendor relationships, connected systems, and a clear-eyed view of where human judgment still needs to sit at the front. Practical observations on data integrity, CRM integration, and LP education as a prerequisite for any technology to actually work rounded out the session. Building a community. The feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. The quality of conversation, the seniority of the room, and the frankness of both panels made it clear there is real appetite for this kind of gathering in private markets. Private markets has always been built on relationships. But dedicated spaces for women in the industry to connect, share, and lead the conversation are still rare. That is what Atominvest Software Ltd set out to create with this event, and the response confirmed it is worth doing properly. Atominvest Software Ltd is making this an annual event. If you want to be part of it - whether as an attendee, panellist, or partner - or if you want to participate other Atominvest events in 2026, get in touch with the team.