BELLCAST | PARTNERS

PRE-MBA RECRUITING
GUIDE
2021

18 EAST 48TH STREET, FLOOR 22| NYC 10017

PHONE 212 731 9773 | WWW.BELLCASTPARTNERS.COM
 INTRODUCTION TO RECRUITING
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the BellCast Partners Pre-MBA Recruiting Guide! As you prepare for the upcoming
recruiting season it is crucial to start familiarizing yourself with some basic knowledge about the Private
Equity industry; this will give you the tools to intelligently evaluate each employment opportunity and
approach every interview with confidence. BellCast Partners strives to ensure that our candidates
possess a comprehensive understanding of how to work with recruiters, what to expect during an
interview, and what kind of experience you will gain from a pre-MBA role in Private Equity. We have
compiled this Private Equity crash-course in order to outline some key industry fundamentals, as well as
to highlight best practices for interviewing and preparing your resume.

BELLCAST PARTNERS FIRM OVERVIEW

BellCast Partners was founded in 2010 by Alison Bellino Johnston and Danielle Caston Strazzini to focus
primarily on recruiting for the private equity industry. The two Partners of BellCast have a combined 40
years of experience recruiting pre-MBA to Partner level professionals. While our focus is on investment
professional roles, we have also completed a number of searches for investor relations and fundraising
roles. Our clients have ranged from newly raised funds to mega funds and our candidate placements
have spanned a wide-range of sectors including financial services, energy, consumer/retail, technology,
media, real estate, healthcare, etc. Our capabilities are global and we will conduct searches in the U.S.,
Asia, India, Latin America and Europe. We partner with our clients to help them identify and hire the
most talented professionals possible. We understand that cultural fit is often as important as investment
acumen and we work with firms and candidates to make the best possible match.

WORKING WITH RECRUITERS

As you begin to navigate the recruiting world, understanding how our business operates will be helpful
in managing your relationship with recruiters. Recruiting firms are hired by private equity firms to
execute searches either on an exclusive or contingent basis. On an exclusive search, the recruiting firm
is the exclusive partner and will be the only firm marketing the opportunity. On a contingent search
there is no exclusive partner, and there may be multiple recruiting firms working on the same search.
Based on the way the recruiting industry is structured, it is your prerogative to meet and network with as
many recruiters as possible to gain access to a wide variety of searches.

At the beginning of every recruiting season recruiters will reach out to you directly to ask for your
information and to schedule a meeting or phone call. Although these recruiting meetings are generally
informal, it is important to treat each recruiter with the same level of professionalism and respect that
you would a potential employer. Recruiters are the gatekeepers to most private equity interviews, and
are unlikely to recommend a candidate who does not present well in an introductory meeting. In
addition, we encourage candidates to be transparent in their interactions with recruiters. While we aim
to assist you with your search and hopefully make successful introductions, at the end of the day we
work for our clients and need to protect them from candidates who do not present themselves and their
situations honestly. Not only does misrepresenting yourself or withholding information reflect poorly on
you, but it can also make the recruiting firm look bad and ultimately lead to recruiters terminating their
relationship with you. It is imperative that you work openly with the recruiter to evaluate each
opportunity seriously and do not take interviews at firms where you would not be likely to accept an
offer.

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 PRIVATE EQUITY OVERVIEW
DEFINITION
A Private Equity fund is a collective investment vehicle used to make majority or minority investments in
privately held companies, based on a firm specific investment thesis, and with the goal of achieving a
return-on-investment through a liquidity event (i.e. sale or IPO).

STRUCTURE
Most Private Equity funds are structured as Limited Partnerships where the General Partners (GPs) serve
as the fund managers and decision-makers, and the Limited Partners (LPs) are the investors which are
typically comprised of public and private pension funds, university endowments, non-profit
organizations, other large institutions, and wealthy individuals (including the GPs).

FUNDING
At the inception of a fund, Limited Partners make unfunded commitments which are then drawn down
(also known as a “capital call”) over the life of the fund, which is typically a fixed-term of 10 years, or
until the fund is fully-invested; a firm will generally target to raise a new fund every 3-5 years, and may
manage multiple funds simultaneously, often with different or distinct investment strategies.

COMPENSATION
General Partners are compensated for managing the fund on two levels:
1) Management Fee is an annual fee paid by investors to the GPs (typically 1-2% of the total capital
commitments, but can be as high as 2.5-3%)
2) Carried Interest is a portion of the capital gains that are paid out to the GPs as an incentive fee
(typically 20%, but can be as high as 25-30%)

FUND SIZE
Private Equity funds are often characterized by their size into two distinct groups:
1) Mega Funds are >$10.0 billion (current fund size, not AUM)
2) Middle-Market Funds range from $500 million - $10 billion and break out into “lower-middle-
market” ($500 million - $1.25 billion), “traditional middle-market” (>$1.25 billion - $5.0 billion) and
“upper-middle-market” (>$5.0 billion - $10.0 billion)

STRATEGY
Private Equity firms structure each fund around a specific investment thesis based on a variety of broad
themes and market trends:
1) Stage Specific funds focus on a particular stage of investment characterized as Venture Capital,
Growth Equity, LBO, or Distressed/Turnaround/Special Situations (see the following page for
detailed descriptions)
2) Sector Specific funds invest only in particular industries (i.e. Energy, Healthcare, Infrastructure,
Real Estate, Technology, etc.)
3) Region Specific funds invest only in particular geographies (i.e. Latin America, Asia, North
America, etc.)

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 PRIVATE EQUITY FUND STYLES
VENTURE CAPITAL
Venture Capital funds seek to provide capital to early-stage growth start-up companies, typically before
they reach profitability. Most of these companies are too small to raise public capital and usually do not
have the operating history to secure debt financing – often they do not even generate revenue at the
time of investment. This strategy is anchored in sourcing the next technological advancement or
revolutionary business model, which puts the focus on high technology businesses within the
information technology, healthcare, and clean technology sectors. VC investors take an infinitely more
positive outlook on investing than your traditional LBO private equity investor. Rather than calculating
how much money will be lost in the event that something goes wrong, the VC investor focuses on how
much money can be made in the event that everything goes right. Venture Capital investing typically
carries a much higher risk than other types of investing, but also promises a much higher reward on
those investments that hit the “grand slam”.

GROWTH EQUITY
Growth Equity funds seek to invest in later-stage growth companies that are cash-flow positive at the
time of investment (or a few years out from profitability) but still have the potential for significant growth
through an equity infusion used to finance a crucial event in the company’s lifecycle. Growth Equity
investing falls between the VC and the LBO strategy; companies at this investment stage typically have
some operating history, but lack sufficient assets and/or cash-flow to obtain traditional debt financing.
For this reason, leverage is rarely used to finance these types of deals and Growth Equity investors will
often take a minority stake in their investments. Partnerships between Growth Equity investors and their
portfolio companies are founded on the hope that an investment is able to reach a transformational
juncture where value is created through the use of private capital.

LEVERAGED BUYOUT
Leveraged Buyout (LBO) funds seek to invest in mature, late-stage companies that are not only
profitable, but have a multi-year history of established operations. LBO investors acquire a controlling
interest in a corporation by committing their equity, in addition to a significant portion of debt. In today’s
market, LBO investors are typically able to use 60-70% leverage, secured by the underlying assets of
the acquisition target. For this reason, companies with low-existing debt loads, stable and recurring
cash-flows, hard assets, and a proven record of success make the most viable LBO candidates. Due to
the heavy reliance on debt, LBO investors tend to be more conservative than early stage investors, and
therefore, target a much lower return on investment. Based on the LBO model, returns are generated
through a variety of fund-specific strategies, but generally fall within categories of either financial
engineering (typically employed by larger funds), or operational improvement (generally a middle-
market strategy).

DISTRESSED / TURNAROUND / SPECIAL SITUATIONS

Distressed / Turnaround / Special Situations funds seek to invest in established companies that are
troubled and in need of “rescue financing.” Often these companies are constrained by deteriorating
operations and/or restrictive capital structures, and require a complete balance sheet recapitalization
and/or a major operational reorganization to become cash-flow positive. Where early stage and LBO
investors partner with healthy companies to create value through growth potential, distressed investors
strip away non-core business segments and revive the profitable core of a company. This is usually
done by making significant operational improvements to the existing business plan. Distressed
investing is known to be one of the more conservative strategies as very little capital is required at the
time of acquisition, and even a successful turnaround will generate modest returns.
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 INTERVIEW BEST PRACTICES
TELLING YOUR STORY
At the beginning of almost every interview you will be asked to “walk through your resume” or “give a
brief background on yourself”. This is your chance to win the interviewer over in the first few minutes
by illustrating how you stand apart from other candidates. Remember that your resume is similar to
many of your peers, so use this opportunity to let your personality shine, and tell the interviewer
something about yourself that will stick with him/her long after the interview. It’s infinitely more
interesting to talk to someone who is passionate about something, so whatever it is for you, make sure to
share that passion with your interviewer. You should keep this portion of the interview extremely
concise while also conveying the rationale behind your life decisions to date (i.e. school choice, firm
choice, career choice – specifically why private equity over other career paths, etc.). Although this is
supposed to be the easy part, preparation is key. Crafting your story thoughtfully so as to appear
composed, mature, and intelligent may be the differentiator between you and another candidate.

KNOWING YOUR DEALS & TECHNICALS

A substantial portion of the interview will be spent discussing the deals on your resume. You should
know the specifics of each deal with 100% confidence – this includes the situation overview, the deal
terms (this also applies to ALL the company financials and transaction multiples), and the responsibilities
of your role. In addition, you need to be able to speak about the deal in a broader context, considering
factors outside the transaction process such as transaction rationale, competitive landscape, industry
dynamics, and overall market/economic trends. An interviewer is usually most interested in discerning
your long-term investor potential, so always keep the “bigger picture” in mind when discussing a
transaction. Although the role of an investment banking analyst is generally limited to execution, make
sure to put yourself in the shoes of an investor; think critically and form an opinion on what you consider
to be the key value drivers, and why you believe the deal was ultimately worthwhile (or not). You
should also have a few investment ideas of your own prepared based on these guidelines; choose
companies that are interesting to you but that are also not too mainstream. Finally, it its important to
brush up on your finance and accounting basics as you will be asked technical questions pertaining to
your deals, as well as other topics at the discretion of the interviewer. A case study and/or modeling test
will typically be administered later in the process to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of your
technical skill set. These exercises are firm specific but will usually ask you to evaluate an acquisition
target, build a working LBO model, and prepare an investment presentation within the allotted time.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR INTERVIEWER & THE PRIVATE EQUITY WORLD

In order to fully prepare for each interview you need to spend some time reading up on the firm with
whom you are interviewing. Try to gain an understanding of the firm by noting details such as inception
date, fund size and number, investment style, key investment criteria, sectors/geographies of interest,
notable portfolio companies, and investment professional backgrounds. Pay special attention to the
background of the interviewer(s) you are meeting; its always helpful to have a shared connection at the
start of a conversation (i.e. hometown, school, prior firm, etc.). Make sure you fully understand the
responsibilities of the role you are seeking (i.e. balance between modeling, sourcing, diligence, etc.),
and use your network to get a better feel for the pre-MBA culture at the type of firm to which you are
applying. Don’t forget to come prepared with intelligent questions that should touch upon information
that is not widely available to the public (i.e. LP base, deal sourcing, specifics on investment criteria,
etc.). As always, take a step back and make sure you have a solid understanding of private equity
industry fundamentals, current market trends, and recent marquee deals/headlines. This guide is
merely a starting point, but you can refer to the additional resources in the back for further study.

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 CANDIDATE ETIQUETTE
GENERAL APPEARANCE
Take pride in your appearance. Your outward appearance is just another metric on which the
interviewer will evaluate you, so the key is to appear neat and well composed. Do not arrive to an
interview with wet hair, missing cufflinks/earrings, or torn/stained clothing. Dress conservatively which
means wear a basic suit; men should not wear anything that could be distracting to the interviewer (i.e.
loud tie, bright shirt, etc.), and women should not wear anything too tight, too short, or un-traditional
(i.e. overly modern or trendy). Footwear should also be appropriate and conservative.

INTERVIEW CONDUCT
The way a candidate comports themselves during the interview is a huge indicator of how they will
behave in a professional setting. The first step to making a good in-person impression is arriving 5-10
minutes early. If you do meet extenuating circumstances that cause you to be late to an interview, you
should make every effort to email the recruiter and/or the interviewer to keep them apprised of your
situation, as well as extend an additional in-person apology upon arrival. Usually being late is not a
deal-breaker, but a casual attitude can be. Greet your interviewer with a firm handshake and remain
positive, courteous and warm throughout the interview. Maintain eye-contact with your interviewer at all
times, smile appropriately, and be conscious of any nervous habits that can be distracting and annoying
(i.e. knuckle cracking, hair twirling, foot tapping, etc.). Before entering the room, make sure all mobile
devices are turned off or placed on silent (not vibrate!). If you absolutely must check your blackberry
during a meeting (which we strongly urge against) it is imperative that you explain the situation to your
interviewer before you get started. Trying to glance at your blackberry discretely is incredibly rude
and people always notice; it paints you as disrespectful and signals to the interviewer that you are
disinterested in the conversation. Additionally, chewing gum or mints, applying lip balm, and playing
with handheld objects are all behaviors from which you should refrain.

FOLLOWING UP
Make a concerted effort to collect business cards from all the people with whom you interact so that you
have their complete contact information. While everyone appreciates a handwritten note, in the essence
of timeliness, make sure to send an email to each of your interviewers, within 24 hours of the meeting.
The e-mail should thank the interviewer for taking the time to meet, as well as make mention of how you
remain interested in the opportunity based on some specific common ground explored during the
interview – this makes it more personal. Do not regurgitate the firm’s mission in your email as the
reason why you want to work there, be more thoughtful and creative and leverage any positive
feedback you ascertained through the interview process.

REFERENCES
You should have three to four formal references prepared to speak on your behalf in advance of making
it to a final round. These should include at least two professionals from your current employer, and at
least one senior person (MD or above). The key to providing references is knowing what people are
going to say about you ahead of time, and prepping them to speak to the strengths that are of particular
interest to the firm with which you are interviewing. In addition to formal references, don’t be surprised
if your interviewer calls around to do some informal reference checking within his/her personal network
– the private equity world is much smaller than you think so there is a good chance you will have some
mutual contacts. For this reason it is very important to limit name-dropping and refrain from
exaggerating your relationships with industry professionals.

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 INTERVIEW CHEAT SHEET
BELLCAST CANDIDATE STANDARDS
Even if you don’t have time to read our full recruiting guide, we hope you will use this cheat sheet as a
checklist to prepare for every interview. Your success in our recruiting processes is not only a
indication of your personal abilities, but also a reflection on BellCast Partners, which is why we hold our
candidates to the highest standards. By following these simple guidelines throughout your interview,
we are confident you will impress our clients with an exceptional level of professionalism and courtesy.

BELLCAST CANDIDATES SHOULD ALWAYS…

▪ Prepare for each interview by thoroughly reviewing the firm as well as the interviewer’s background
▪ Dress neatly, appropriately and conservatively
▪ Arrive 5-10 minutes early
▪ Greet the interviewer with a firm handshake
▪ Maintain eye contact throughout the interview and exude a warm, positive and courteous attitude
▪ Convey your “story” confidently and concisely, providing adequate rationale for any major decisions
▪ Know your deals cold and be prepared to speak in detail on every aspect of the transaction
▪ Ask thoughtful questions as appropriate to highlight your interest
▪ Try to anticipate questions interviewers might ask and be prepared with concise answers
▪ Have a few investment ideas in mind that jive with the firm’s strategy
▪ Send a “Thank You” email to all interviewers within 24 hours of the meeting

BELLCAST CANDIDATES SHOULD NEVER…

▪ Wear anything other than a conservative and appropriate suit
▪ No-show or arrive late without any prior notice that has been acknowledged as received
▪ Appear disinterested, disengaged or bored at any point while speaking with the interviewer
▪ Exaggerate or lie about your background, scores, or personal industry relationships/connections
▪ Say anything negative or disrespectful about current or past employers (or anyone for that matter!)
▪ Chew gum/mints, apply lip balm, play with your hair, crack your knuckles, tap your foot, etc.
▪ Check your phone
▪ Check your watch/clock

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 RESUME BEST PRACTICES
FORMATTING
Your resume makes the first impression on a potential employer so it is imperative that it presents as
well as you do. Formatting is the simplest and most obvious way to make an understated impact on your
interviewer. At this stage in your career, your resume should not exceed 1 page. It is always best to
stay away from non-traditional formats (colors, graphics, wacky fonts, etc.), and stick to the tried and
true 3-section resume, which we have outlined below. For font choice, we prefer Times New Roman or
Book Antiqua (in an 8pt+) which are universally used, professional, and easy on the eyes. Your attention
to detail should be spot-on; any typos, margin errors, or misalignments will make your resume appear
sloppy and lead interviewers to question your attention to detail.

EXPERIENCE
This section of your resume should take up 1/2 - 1/3 of the page. Current work experience will be at the
top and should address your general professional responsibilities as well as specific transaction
experience. Give only a few lines to the day-to-day duties and put the emphasis on your closed and
pending live deal experience, as this is what most interviewers will want to discuss. Make sure you
focus on quality over quantity; you should not include any transactions to which you cannot speak in
great detail – this may mean listing only one or two transactions. The company name (or project name)
and the type of transaction should be clearly listed in the transaction header, and the subsequent bullet
points should outline your specific role on the transaction. Take care to maintain confidentiality as
appropriate; do not disclose the company name or other specifics about a transaction that has not yet
been announced. Regarding internship experience, you should include all relevant summer work,
however, keep the details to a minimum. Follow the same guidelines as you would with transaction
experience – if you did not feel that your freshmen or sophomore summer work experience was
significant or relevant enough to discuss at length, it should not be included. You never know what will
be of particular interest to your interviewer, but you don’t want to set yourself up to fail by including
transactions or experiences you are not confident articulating.

EDUCATION
As you continue your professional career, the pre-MBA education section on your resume will become
less significant, however at this stage, highlighting your pre-MBA academic and extracurricular
achievements is appropriate. From your college career, particular areas of interest include scholarships
(academic or athletic), positions of leadership (clubs, fraternities, etc.), and athletic affiliations (Varsity
sports). Every potential employer will want to have your GPA and board scores before hiring you, but
as a rule of thumb, you should not include your GPA on your resume if it is below 3.5, or your SAT scores
if they are below 650. You should be prepared to defend (in an interview) any scores that fall below
these parameters as you may be asked for scores not included on your resume. Do not include your
high school.

SKILLS & INTERESTS

This is the area to highlight your basic skills (language, applications, certifications, etc.), as well as your
personal passions (activities, charities, etc.). This section should provide some interesting and unique
topics of conversation, so choose activities and affiliations that differentiate your background. Be
thoughtful about the image these present – this is often a way to gauge someone's personality at first
glance (i.e. do not include your golf handicap – this can come off as arrogant). As with every other part
of your resume, do not lie or exaggerate; you should not put anything in this section on which you are
not prepared to elaborate.

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 SAMPLE RESUME
CANDIDATE NAME
Email: Preferred Contact Email • Work: (212) 555-5555 • Mobile: (646) 555-5555
Home Street Address, New York, NY 10013
EXPERIENCE
BANK NAME New York, NY
Investment Banking Analyst – M&A Group Summer 2018, July 2019 - Present
• Advise A&D, Business Services, Consumer/Retail, Energy, FIG, Gaming, Healthcare, Industrials, Real Estate and TMT
clients on a broad range of M&A strategic advisory assignments
• Build comprehensive financial models and perform valuation analyses including LBO, M&A accretion/dilution, and DCF
• Prepare and present management presentations, internal commitment committee memoranda and pitch materials
inclusive of financial analysis, industry overview, and company specific metrics
• Active member of the on-campus analyst recruiting team and leader of the summer analyst training program

Representative Transactions
Company / Project Name – Advising a Financial Sponsor on the $800 million sale of a Contract Research Organization (Pending)
• Worked closely with senior management to develop integrated operating and financial projections; performed detailed
analysis to ascertain both internal and external viewpoints of company value
• Prepared and processed numerous sell-side documents, including the Management Presentation, Confidential
Information Memorandum, and Company Teaser
• Served as primary liaison between company management, potential buyers (strategic and financial) and legal and tax
advisors to facilitate an extensive due diligence process

Company / Project Name – Advising a Steel Manufacturer in defense against a $1.5 billion Hostile Tender Offer by a Strategic (Pending)
• Developed sum-of-the-parts valuation of various divisions of the company, which showed the return profile of the
investment through divestitures of the business segments
• Constructed LBO analysis with sensitivities to illustrate potential returns to activist shareholder based on the tender offer
• Prepared DCF valuation, and investor presentation for inadequacy opinion to board and shareholders
• Analyzed potential acquirer’s historic investment strategy to understand the potential steps company would need to take
in order to realize optimum value in the event of a sale transaction

Company / Project Name – Advised a Financial Sponsor on the $3.0 billion Leveraged Buyout of a Discount Retailer (December 2019)
• Constructed LBO model to reflect various financing structures and returns to Sponsor at different purchase multiples
• Sensitized various assumptions for store revenue build-up based on vintage, geography and costs assumptions
• Analyzed macroeconomic and discount-retailing industry trends, geographic expansion capability and defensibility
• Performed diligence on Sponsor’s plan for capex and cost reductions and working capital

FIRM NAME New York, NY

Summer Analyst – Wealth Management Summer 2017
• Worked on the High Net Worth Individual team, maintaining and servicing current client accounts, in addition to targeting new
business by identifying and pitching clients with investable assets of less than $5 million
• Prepared a break-even analysis to help a client decide when to begin taking payments in his Defined Benefits Plan, utilizing
actuarial tables and expected returns based on planned asset allocation

EDUCATION
COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY NAME Philadelphia, PA
Specific School / Program Name May 2019
Bachelor of Science in Finance & Accounting; Minor/Concentration in Spanish (Summa Cum Laude) GPA: 3.95/4.00
• Awards: Academic Scholarship, Finance Scholar, Case Competition Finalist, Outstanding Greek Student Award
• Activities: President, Fraternity; Treasurer, Student Investment Club; Captain, Varsity Football Team
• Scores: GMAT 800 / LSAT 180 / CFA Level 1 / SAT M 800 / SAT V 800 / SAT W 800 / ACT 36

SKILLS & INTERESTS

• Languages: Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese
• Applications: Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Bloomberg, and Photoshop
• Licenses: Series 7, 63 & 79
• Interests: Golf, Fantasy Football, Bungee Jumping, iMentor

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 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
ONLINE RESOURCES
▪ www.axios.com (Pro Rata)
▪ www.businessinsider.com
▪ www.thedeal.com
▪ www.nytimes.com (Deal Book)
▪ www.wsj.com
▪ www.pehub.com
▪ www.fortune.com (Term Sheet)

SUGGESTED READING LIST

▪ Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, Bryan Burrough
▪ Den of Thieves, James B. Stewart
▪ Global Private Equity Report, Bain & Company
▪ How the Mighty Fail: And Why Some Companies Never Give in, Jim Collins
▪ King of Capital, John E. Morris
▪ The New Financial Capitalists: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the Creation of Corporate Value, George P.
Baker & George David Smith
▪ The Predators’ Ball: The Inside Story of Drexel Burnham and the Rise of the Junk Bond Raiders, Connie
Bruck
▪ The Vault Guide to Private Equity and Hedge Fund Interviews, Alice Doo
▪ Venture Capital and Private Equity: A Casebook, Josh Lerner

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 BELLCAST TEAM
ALISON BELLINO JOHNSTON – Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Alison founded BellCast Partners along with Danielle Caston Strazzini in 2010. Prior to founding BellCast, Alison was a Managing
Director at CPI where she was responsible for Analyst to Partner level recruitment for Private Equity firms, hedge funds and real
estate Private Equity funds. She began her career with Merrill Lynch where she was responsible for Analyst Recruiting. She later
managed Associate Recruiting for Deutsche Bank’s Investment Banking Group in London. Alison graduated from Villanova
University with a B.A. in Political Science.
DANIELLE CASTON STRAZZINI – Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Danielle founded BellCast Partners along with Alison Bellino Johnston in 2010. Prior to founding BellCast, Danielle was a
Managing Director at CPI where she was responsible for Analyst to Partner level recruitment for Private Equity firms, hedge funds
and real estate Private Equity firms. She began her career in the Commercial Mortgage Backed Securitization Group with Nomur a
Securities. Danielle graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Government and Studio Art.
JENNIFER TAYLOR CRAGIN
Jennifer joined BellCast Partners in 2020 after a sixteen-year tenure with Lazard. While at Lazard, Jennifer worked in the Capital
Markets Group negotiating and structuring Convertible and High Yield transactions between corporate clients and investors.
Prior to that, she worked in Sales and Trading for Prudential Securities and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Jennifer graduated from
Lehigh University with a B.A. in Psychology.
LUISA ERRICHETTI
Luisa joined BellCast Partners in 2015. Previously, she worked with J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Philanthropy Centre, an advisory
group that provides clients with insights and services to meet their philanthropic goals. Prior to that, she was an investment analyst
in J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Financial Sponsors Group. Luisa graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in
Latin American Studies and Spanish.

SARAH FESSLER
Sarah joined BellCast Partners in 2011. Previously, she worked as an investment banker in the Financial Sponsors Group at
Jefferies & Company Inc. Sarah graduated magna cum laude from New York University’s Gallatin School with an Individualized
B.A. in Economics and Sociology.
JESSICA HERSCH
Jessica joined BellCast Partners in 2013. Previously, she was an investment professional recruiter at Glocap Search. Prior to
joining Glocap, she worked at Citigroup in the Global Structured Credit Products and Subprime Portfolio groups. Jessica
graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in International History.
AMANDA LEE
Amanda joined BellCast Partners in 2014. Previously, she was in investing roles in both the public and private markets, at
Merchants’ Gate Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company. Prior to that, she worked at Moelis & Company in New York as
an investment banking analyst. Amanda graduated with high distinction from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business
with a Bachelor in Business Administration and a concentration in Finance.
MARISA MARXEN
Marisa joined BellCast Partners in 2011. She started her career as a consultant at Mercer Management Consulting and spent
several years in brand management roles for Dreyer’s, a division of Nestle USA, as well as Dannon. Marisa holds a B.A. with
distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
HERSHNA PATEL
Hershna started her career as a professional services recruiter with Aerotek specializing in the healthcare and accounting sectors.
She is primarily focused on BellCast’s Associate recruiting practice. Hershna graduated cum laude from Rutgers Business School
with a B.S. in Marketing. As a native of New Jersey, Hershna can be found riding her bike along Pier A Park in Hoboken. She also
enjoys cooking and watercolor painting in her free time.
ANA BEATRIZ SANI
Ana joined BellCast Partners in 2012. Previously, Ana was a Recruiter at SG Partners where she executed searches for a wide
range of private equity funds, hedge funds and investment banks. Prior to joining SG Partners, Ana was an investment banker in
the Financial Institutions Group at Citigroup. Ana received a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Williams College,
where she also captained the women’s varsity soccer team.
COLLEEN SULLIVAN
Colleen joined BellCast Partners in 2016. Previously, she worked in real estate private equity at Northwood Investors and
investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Colleen graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University with a
B.S. in Finance and International Business, and a minor in Economics.

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