Kinzie Capital Partners Named North American Female Founded Firm of the Year

Private Equity Women’s Investor Network recognizes founder Suzanne Yoon’s Chicago-based firm

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kinzie Capital Partners LLC (“Kinzie”), a Chicago-based private equity firm, is proud to announce that the Private Equity Women’s Investor Network (PEWIN) has named it PEWIN North American Female Founded Firm of the Year 2020. PEWIN is an internationally recognized network of female leaders in the private equity sector. Each year, the North American Female Founded Firm of the Year award is presented to outstanding firms that manage third party capital and are founded and partly owned by a woman or women.

Founder and Managing Partner Suzanne Yoon launched Kinzie in 2017 as one of only a very few woman owned private equity firms that is focused on control buyouts in the middle market. An industry veteran, Yoon has decades of experience in private equity, private debt, divestitures, special situations, restructurings, and investing in and advising middle market companies.

“I am both thrilled and humbled to be recognized by a group of my peers that I so greatly admire. The women of PEWIN have served as trustworthy mentors throughout my career and Kinzie would not have started without their ongoing support and guidance,” said Suzanne Yoon, Founder and Managing Partner, Kinzie. “PEWIN has been a foundational rock for Kinzie, and for me, and will continue to be for years to come.”

Yoon has long been a trailblazer in the traditionally male-dominated private equity business. Kinzie’s in-house team coupled with its strategic partnership with technology and management consulting firm, Clarity Partners, uses a comprehensive approach for providing strategic guidance to portfolio companies with expertise focused on financial, operational and technology improvements to create sound investments. This allows Kinzie to leverage technology and a strong operational focus to eliminate inefficiencies and unlock new business opportunities for portfolio companies and investors. The firm was recognized by PEWIN for its innovative use of technology and substantial growth over the last three years.

Kelly Williams, Founding Chair and co-CEO of PEWIN said, “PEWIN is so pleased to recognize Kinzie Capital Partners for leading by example in their support, promotion and amplification of the outstanding women investors who exist in the global private equity industry. Through Kinzie’s efforts, it is our hope that the amount of assets under management by women in the industry will continue to increase, as they demonstrate the outstanding returns achieved by women investors especially during these unprecedented times.”

PEWIN is led by some of the most influential women in the private equity sector, including Kelly Williams, The Williams Legacy Foundation; Kate Mitchell, Scale Venture Partners; Krista Hatcher, Chicago Pacific Founders; Dana Johns, Maryland State Retirement and Pension System; Iris Zhao-Fiorello, PEWIN; Sarah Corr, CalPERS; and Miranda Lindl O’Connell, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.

Yoon is an active civic leader who was appointed Chair of the National Philanthropic Trust in 2020. Under her leadership, Kinzie financially supports 55 community organizations, including Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago Children’s Choir, ReNew, Women Employed, the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, and others. Yoon also serves as a Board Member, Co-Chair for the Finance Committee of the Council of Korean Americans and a Board Member for HFS Scholars and the Chicago Public Library Foundation. Mergers & Acquisitions named Yoon to the 2020 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A and the Wall Street Journal recognized her as a top female deal maker shaping private equity’s present & future.

About Private Equity Women’s Investor Network (PEWIN)

After a 2007 article in a business magazine claimed there were only four top women working in private equity, the leaders of PEWIN launched a new mission: create an intimate forum for senior women in private equity to foster and grow relationships, professionally and personally. PEWIN provides a space for women in private equity to share investment ideas, explore ways to work together and increase the profile of female leaders in the industry. PEWIN has members from all sectors of the private equity business, including general partners, limited partners and other private equity professionals and has grown to include over 700 women across North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Despite its growth, PEWIN remains focused on having an open and trusting interaction by limiting membership to the most senior women in the industry, each of whom has been sponsored by another member. PEWIN has proven firmly that there are far more than four top women in private equity out there, and with the support and commitment of members, continues to grow.

About Kinzie Capital Partners LLC

Kinzie is a woman and minority owned private equity firm investing in lower middle-market companies in the consumer, manufacturing, and services industries with $3MM to $15MM of EBITDA. In alliance with Clarity Partners, LLC, specialists in management and technology consulting, Kinzie has assembled a team of technology, operations and industry experts that work closely with its portfolio companies to execute strategic vision. Whether companies are navigating a generational shift, experiencing a period of high growth or managing a complex business cycle, Kinzie seeks to create sustainable outcomes by leveraging technology and strong operational focus. For more information visit www.kinziecp.com