Faye is a career investment banker with a decade of experience, working on over $20 billion in announced transactions across the fintech and financial services sectors. Over the years, Faye engaged with clients across the entire fintech spectrum, including market structure, consumer finance, insurtech, regtech, security, and data platforms. She has worked on transactions ranging from initial capital raises to billion-dollar acquisitions. Each project, regardless of size, represents a meaningful, even transformative, moment for her clients. On a day-to-day basis, Faye assists founders and management teams by providing industry and valuation insights, developing strategies, refining investor materials and financial projections, and serving as a reliable sounding board for their ideas.
Faye was drawn to financial services for its widespread impact across industries, and she has always admired the resilience of those in fintech, not only for their innovation but also for their ability to make tough decisions and adapt during challenging market conditions. She is particularly excited about witnessing trends that have been around for years (even decades) become mainstream topics. She believes that this will further fuel growth, adoption and innovation in the broader sector.
Faye started her investment banking journey at Boston College, majoring in finance and accounting – Go Eagles! Her initial exposure to the field came through an internship at UBS, where she thrived in the fast-paced environment and enjoyed the complexities of the work. After graduating, she joined UBS full-time and contributed to several IPOs, laying a solid foundation for her career. Seeking to broaden her expertise, Faye moved to Broadhaven to focus more on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and to engage more closely with earlier stage businesses. Broadhaven Capital Partners, known for its advisory services (predominantly M&A and capital raising) has advised on over $90 billion in announced transactions. The firm also invests in fintech and related businesses through Broadhaven Ventures. On the advisory side, the team prides itself on its client-centric approach, creatively solving problems and leveraging deep sector expertise to deliver positive outcomes for their clients.
Working at Broadhaven has been immensely rewarding for Faye. She values the connections she continues to make and the expertise she has developed across various sectors and transaction types. However, the primary reason she remains at the firm is the people – Broadhaven is filled with smart, hardworking people that she respects and with whom she has built long-lasting friendships.
More on Faye
Where you currently live: New York City
Living Arrangement: Manhattan Apartment
Hometown: Roslyn, Long Island
Favorite hobby: I love spending quality time with my friends and family. It doesn’t matter what we are doing, although we are typically found trying out new restaurants.
Favorite fintech media (blog, podcast, newsletter etc) that inspires you, in your career/life/etc and share 1-2 Sentences on why it inspires you: I’m a recent but huge fan of Nicole Casperson’s Fintech is Femme newsletter. Her semiweekly, easy-to-read newsletter and live events showcase innovative fintech companies and inspiring women in fintech. The news, stories and advice are very relevant to what is driving the industry and rarely overlap with the major stories of more mainstream channels.
How do you challenge yourself in your role? How do you differentiate yourself at your role (so that other FinTech women can reference to model their career pathways)?
The experience of advisors – including their ability to use critical thinking to draw upon their experiences and develop creative ways to solve challenges – plays a crucial role in a transaction’s success. Knowing the “playbook” is not enough as each transaction is unique (e.g., the type of businesses involved, the environmental backdrop, key constituents’ goals, and potential transaction structures). I am often in a position where I need to make decisions or provide my advice when there is no definitively correct answer. While I strive to be present, proactive and collaborative with my clients, I differentiate myself by being more thoughtful to anticipate or resolve issues. Clients appreciate the level of care that I put into my work.
What is one piece of advice someone told you that resonated with you that can give to other women in FinTech?
“Stop being humble”. A mentor noticed that I would instinctively dismiss praise, either said directly to me or about me to someone else. He pointed out that clients and partners are generally sincere when offering praise, so brushing it off can seem insulting, even if I was trying to show humility. That completely changed my perspective, helping me accept the recognition I receive and be proud of my successes.
Can you tell us about a time someone encouraged you to try a task or take on a project you didn’t think that you would know how to do/or be good at?
Particularly early in my career, Broadhaven gave me direct exposure to our senior bankers including the Partners. As a junior banker, I observed my direct supervisors and tried to anticipate their needs, basically treating them as my client. While these situations can be daunting, I reminded myself that they were a result of the firm’s confidence in me and that any feedback I received should be viewed as advice to improve rather than as criticism as a result of my inexperience.
What is the most important lesson you have learned from a mistake you’ve made in the past?
I’ve learned how one reacts to a mistake is incredibly important – to remain calm and promptly weigh next steps and possible outcomes to either undo the error or mitigate the mistake’s consequences. I also try to implement controls to prevent a similar future error.
Do you have any productivity hacks? What keeps you motivated? How do you maintain a work/life balance?
Through the transition of remote/hybrid work and with the increase in work-related travel, I’ve found that being able to replicate a workstation setup that I’m comfortable with has helped me focus and maximize my productivity.
I’m a relationship driven person, and I often develop friendships with both clients and coworkers. I’m mainly motivated by wanting to do right by them.
Since my schedule and my days can be extremely inconsistent, I’ve developed the ability to be very flexible. Having been in this business for so long, I’ve become skilled at opportunistically finding moments to catch up on life or to decompress, while also intentionally scheduling these movements in as well.