Associate

The Growth Equity team, with USD 3.9 billion of capital raised over four funds since 2008, focuses on being the best partner to high-quality, sustainability-focused, growth-stage companies. These are typically asset-light, highly scalable businesses whose products and services accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable economy. The strategy typically invests in companies with revenues of USD 20-500 million, growing at 30-100% annually, with healthy and defensible unit economics, that have moved past regulatory and technology risks. It aims to support either market expansion or market penetration, typically by investing behind the growth of businesses. It takes meaningful minority stakes, with active engagement with the management teams and involvement at the board level.

We are currently investing out of our fourth fund (“SSF IV” with $1.7 billion of committed capital). We are a team of 25 professionals united by the goal to accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy. We invest globally in growth-stage, private companies with proven technology and commercial traction across the three pillars of planetary health, people health and financial inclusion.

We back mission-driven management teams driving System Positive solutions across a variety of global sectors. Indicative investments include Asana, Benevity, ServiceTitan, OneTrust, Gusto, o9 Solutions, Remitly, Toast, and Vestiaire Collective.

The Role

We are looking for an Associate to join our Growth Equity Team in Generation’s San Francisco office. As an Associate on our Growth Equity team, you are an important part of a lean, non-hierarchical and mission-driven team with significant responsibility from day one. You will work with our Directors and Partners across the entire investment process:

• Leading research in sustainability trends across sectors like Healthcare, Enterprise SaaS, Mobility, Financial Services and Food & Agriculture, etc.;
• Identifying investment themes and sourcing a pipeline of targets that arise from these trends;
• Conducting market, business and financial analysis around investment opportunities;
• Preparing and making recommendations to our Investment Committee;
• Contributing to Generation’s thought leadership through organizing events around sustainability topics;
• Supporting our portfolio and contributing to portfolio analytics.

About you

The ideal candidate will have 2-4 years of work experience in consulting, investment banking, private investing, or a related role. A clear interest in the impact behind sustainable investing is a must, although previous work experience in the space is not required. We are looking for candidates who demonstrate the following qualities.

• Strong mission alignment: low ego, team player, high integrity, belief in sustainability, intellectual curiosity.
• Strong quantitative and qualitative problem-solving abilities.
• Analytical experience and familiarity with basic financial diligence
• Excellent communication skills.
• Effective working in small teams.
• Entrepreneurial and demonstrated curiosity, confidence, and interest to debate financial, business and sustainability themes.
• Learning mindset.
• Organized, proactive and pragmatic: you see what needs to be done and do it.

The Firm

Generation is an independent, broadly owned and managed private partnership – with offices in London and San Francisco. The Generation team of 130 people brings together seasoned analysts and leaders from the sustainability research field.

Generation was founded in 2004 with the mission of proving the business case for an integrated investment approach which considers both sustainability and fundamental financial analysis. This mission also unites our global client base of asset owners, for whom we manage approximately USD 45 billion (as of 3Q23). In addition to our public and private equity strategies, in 2021 Generation launched a new business called Just Climate.

Central to our investment philosophy is the explicit recognition that sustainability factors directly affect long-term business profitability. We define a sustainable business as one whose current earnings do not borrow from its future earnings and provides goods or services consistent with a net zero, prosperous, equitable, healthy and safe society.

We believe culture to be a key driver of long-term success. We have tried to be thoughtful and deliberate in developing the culture at Generation and work hard to maintain and reinforce it. Our mission and values form the foundation on which our culture is based and are important parts of how we attract, retain and develop the best professionals. We believe that our people are motivated to join and remain with our firm because of the opportunity afforded to them to work with high calibre professionals, achieve personal fulfilment from succeeding in challenging roles, to deliver meaningful results to our clients in a way that fulfils our broader mission, and to align our own financial incentives with those of our clients.

Generation funds the Generation Foundation from a proportion of the firm’s profitability. The Generation Foundation has the shared mission of creating a net-zero, prosperous, equitable, healthy and safe society. Further information about our firm is available on our website.