Key Takeaways
- • Blueprint Capital Advisors, through its Power100 initiative and with sponsorship from Nasdaq, held the inaugural POWHER100: Women Shaping Private Markets event on October 19 at Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square.
- • The invitation-only gathering brought together senior executives across private equity, venture capital and institutional investing, along with institutional allocators, asset managers and entrepreneurs.
- • Per a 2025 PitchBook analysis citing the NVCA and Deloitte, Black women account for just 2% of investment professionals and 1% of investment partners.
- • A featured conversation between Erin Harkless Moore, CFA (Pivotal Ventures) and Paige Hendrix Buckner (All Raise) focused on how women move capital and build networks that expand institutional access.
Summary
Blueprint Capital Advisors, the Black-owned investment firm led by founder and CEO Jacob Walthour, Jr., launched POWHER100 on October 19 at Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square. The initiative, an offshoot of Blueprint's Power100 platform, was sponsored by Nasdaq and convened women leaders influencing investment decisions across private equity, venture capital and institutional finance. The invitation-only event included senior investment executives, institutional allocators, asset managers and entrepreneurs.
The event was framed around the persistent underrepresentation of women in financial leadership, particularly positions that direct investment capital. Citing a 2025 PitchBook analysis drawing on the National Venture Capital Association and Deloitte's venture capital workforce survey, the article notes that Black women account for just 2% of investment professionals and 1% of investment partners. PitchBook's 2026 reporting found that female-founded companies attracted record venture investment in 2025, although that capital remained concentrated among a relatively small number of businesses.
The featured session, titled "From Advocacy to Action: How Women Move Capital, Open Doors and Build Power Together," was moderated by a conversation between Erin Harkless Moore, CFA, Managing Director, Investments at Pivotal Ventures, and Paige Hendrix Buckner, CEO of All Raise. Pivotal Ventures, founded by Melinda French Gates, focuses on expanding women's power and influence, while All Raise works to increase women's representation in venture capital and the startup ecosystem. The discussion centered on how institutional access and professional networks shape economic opportunity.
Walthour has positioned the initiative as a response to structural barriers that have excluded women and people of color from institutional investing. In a March 2026 statement announcing his appointment to the Milken Institute's Inclusive Capitalism Executive Council, he said, "The strength and future of capitalism depend on whether people believe the system is fair and open." The article notes that the gathering took place amid a broader national reassessment of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and argues that relationship-driven approaches may complement corporate pledges. Organizers describe POWHER100's success as measurable by the relationships, investments and opportunities that follow the event.
The event was framed around the persistent underrepresentation of women in financial leadership, particularly positions that direct investment capital. Citing a 2025 PitchBook analysis drawing on the National Venture Capital Association and Deloitte's venture capital workforce survey, the article notes that Black women account for just 2% of investment professionals and 1% of investment partners. PitchBook's 2026 reporting found that female-founded companies attracted record venture investment in 2025, although that capital remained concentrated among a relatively small number of businesses.
The featured session, titled "From Advocacy to Action: How Women Move Capital, Open Doors and Build Power Together," was moderated by a conversation between Erin Harkless Moore, CFA, Managing Director, Investments at Pivotal Ventures, and Paige Hendrix Buckner, CEO of All Raise. Pivotal Ventures, founded by Melinda French Gates, focuses on expanding women's power and influence, while All Raise works to increase women's representation in venture capital and the startup ecosystem. The discussion centered on how institutional access and professional networks shape economic opportunity.
Walthour has positioned the initiative as a response to structural barriers that have excluded women and people of color from institutional investing. In a March 2026 statement announcing his appointment to the Milken Institute's Inclusive Capitalism Executive Council, he said, "The strength and future of capitalism depend on whether people believe the system is fair and open." The article notes that the gathering took place amid a broader national reassessment of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and argues that relationship-driven approaches may complement corporate pledges. Organizers describe POWHER100's success as measurable by the relationships, investments and opportunities that follow the event.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.