There are a large number of private equity journalists that you can follow online, however, without having the time to properly research which are the best, how can you possibly know if you’re missing out on the most up-to-date, exciting analysis from the brightest minds in private equity?
Below you’ll find our choice of the top 5 private equity journalists you should be following. All 5 of the below journalists make a fabulous effort to delve into the private markets, analyse what they find and then display it in a manner which you will not only understand and be able to apply to your decision making but in a way that is also engaging.
1. Cristina Alesci – @CristinaAlesci
Christina’s employer record is extremely impressive, with the likes of Pfizer and Sidley Austin LLP appearing before she ended up at Bloomberg. Her absolute desire to get the story is extremely obvious and inspiring and explains why she was offered the job of correspondent for CNN and CNNMoney.
You may well have come across her before if you’ve been keeping an eye on various takeover and private equity deals over recent years. She was responsible, for instance for breaking the news of the collapse of MF Global and the Neiman Marcus buyout amongst many more. In addition to breaking and covering many of these top stories, Christina has also covered many of the most up-to-date public offerings, such as Facebook and, of course, Twitter.
Christina stands out because, whilst she’s clearly very smart, she has many more strings to her bow. Her reports and analysis are put forward in an informative but very appealing manner and her forthright, determined attitude ensures she always gets the results she needs (i.e. the news you’re after). You should most definitely start following Christina if you’re keen to find out all the latest in private equity and/or if you happen to share her love of mixing music.
2. Jonathan Shieber – @jshieber
Jonathan Schieber is most definitely one to watch. As a Senior Reporter for Dow Jones, he focused on writing about private equity, venture capital, energy and technology. You have probably read something of his if you’ve explored the business journalistic delights of Dow Jones, and in particular The Wall Street Journal, where he was an extremely regular contributor. His thoughts, insights and financial analysis often appeared multiple times a day, ensuring his readers were always able to keep on top of the latest private equity news.
Now working for TechCrunch as a Senior Editor on CrunchCase (TechCrunch’s comprehensive database of startup activity), Jonathan’s job is to ensure his followers are kept up-to-date with the latest goings on in venture capital investment; something which he does with flourish! Jonathan’s updates are extremely regular, whether you’re looking for daily funding statements or information on new product launches. As well as following Jonathan online, if you’re fortunate enough to be in the US, you might be able to catch him quizzing a number of ‘big industry names’ at various conferences.
Jonathan provides his followers with enormous confidence that you’ll never miss a trick when he’s on the case, which is more than enough reason to start following him.
3. Simone Foxman – @SimoneFoxman
It’s always fantastic to see young women making their mark on the business world and no more is this true than in the case of Simone Foxman. Having first expressed her passion for economics at school, Simone went on to study the subject, alongside Middle Eastern Studies, at Columbia University.
After interning at CNN en Espanol, New York City’s WPIX-TV and Atlantic City’s NBC 40, Simone eventually joined Business Insider as a reporter for the Money Game vertical in 2011. Whilst there Simone focused on the financial affairs of Europe, as well as reporting on the LIBOR scandal and what the future held in terms of finance, technology and regulation.
Joining Quartz in 2012, Simone was obviously an immediate fit. Quartz is renowned for its utterly intelligent journalism and creative style; a style which Simone most definitely fits into. She wrote a large number of extremely informative, appealing articles whilst working at Quartz, articles which we definitely recommend reading if you have the time. Now a hedge fund reporter at Bloomberg, which is a relatively recent development, you’d be a fool not to keep an eye on this journalist!
4. Anousha Sakoui – @anoushasakoui
Making a stand for London is Anousha Sakoui, another exciting young woman who’s making waves in private equity journalism. She originally started her journalistic career working for the BBC, where she was focused on reporting business finance news for both TV and radio. After leaving the BBC, she took on various reporting and editorial roles at Euroweek (a publication by Euromoney) and Thomson Reuters’ International Financial Review.
Adding to an already impressive CV, Anousha went on to work for Dow Jones where she reported on capital markets and then moved to the Financial Times in 2008, where she continued reporting on capital markets. Anousha’s reporting style stands out from many other private equity journalists, many of whose reporting styles can be quite dry; Anousha is anything but dry. She specialises in corporate finance, equity and debt capital markets and distressed debt so it was really only a matter of time before another big financial news employer came ‘a calling’.
She now works for Bloomberg News as a reporter for their news service, so is no longer London based; instead she works in Los Angeles and covers the Hollywood area. Even though the UK may have lost her physically, fortunately, we can still keep track of her and her private equity updates through the power of online technology! She’s definitely one to follow, especially if you’re keen to learn and keep up-to-date with all the latest in business and finance news.
5. Devin Banerjee – @devinbanerjee
Last, but by no means least is Devin Banerjee. A Management Science and Engineering graduate from Stanford University, Devin is most certainly another private equity journalist to keep an eye on. Starting his journalistic career at the Stanford Daily, Devin held a number of positions from staff reporter, news desk editor and managing editor of news all the way through to president and editor-in-chief.
In 2010, Devin started writing for the Wall Street Journal as a staff reporter and from there continued building his career as an accomplished journalist. He has written countless articles for the Wall Street Journal, as well as the San Jose Mercury News and the JoonAng Daily. He tends to focus his writing on private equity and deals and most definitely gets bonus points for being one of the host regular posting journalists.
Devin became an investing reporter for Bloomberg News in 2011 and is responsible for covering private equity markets. As a reporter for Bloomberg News, he also regularly contributes articles to Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg Markets and Bloomberg Television. You may well have also spotted his musings in any one of the following: The Washington Post, Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicle. If you’re after regular, accurate and attention-grabbing private equity news, Devin should be your go-to private equity journalist.