Meet the Architects of Ardian: Sara Huang, Managing Director, Secondaries & Primaries

Sara Huang is one of those who have had a significant impact on Ardian's development. Having joined in 2010, she has risen through the business to now sit at the helm of the Secondaries & Primaries team in New York, as well as co-founding the Americas branch of the Ardian Women’s Club. 

Learning to take opportunities

Sara moved to the U.S. from Ningbo, China, as a teenager with limited English – so she learnt from a young age what it means to adapt, and ultimately thrive, in a new situation. It was during her studies that she discovered the private equity sector at a job fair, and this was the catalyst that led to her joining Ardian and embarking on a successful career.

Her first foray into finance was an internship in the Technology department of Goldman Sachs followed by a stint at Merrill Lynch, where she learned about various aspects of the business, notably trading, derivatives, and prime brokerage. Two years later, she joined Ardian in search of meaning in her career.

Lasting effort, lasting change

Since joining as an Analyst, Sara has seen lasting, positive change occur in her own career as well as at Ardian as a firm. From her “bird’s eye view of the industry” she can see the developments occurring both for LPs and GPs, which in turn means she knows how best to service her various stakeholders.

However, her desire to have an impact is far from limited to the financial side of things. Sara is a catalyst for propelling the careers of others around her at Ardian, and within that, women.

In line with our belief in being Architects of lasting change, Sara puts it perfectly: “Every decision you make in a financial context will not just translate into how much money is made. It will also impact the daily lives of many people – their pension, their retirement, their dreams and aspirations. Ultimately, this is what we work for. We want to make good investments -- not just because they yield good profits, but also to create positive impacts for our investors and society as a whole.”