Monthly people move spotlight: Katherine Tercek joins QED Investors
Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: QED Investors
Katherine Tercek joined QED Investors as head of investor relations.
Why it matters: QED Investors, based in Alexandria, Va., has invested in more than 225 companies, including 29 unicorns, and currently has $4 billion in assets under management.
Context: Tercek, formerly a senior associate on the investor relations team at Bessemer Venture Partners, will focus on the 17-year old firm's fundraising strategy. She will manage the relationships of QED's LP base, along with cultivating new relationships.
Zoom in: Tercek succeeds Courtney Christianson and reports to CFO Jamie Loving. Before Bessemer Venture Partners, Tercek worked at Palladium Equity Partners and Wells Fargo Securities.
📈 Trend spot: Tercek is seeing people across asset classes looking to build relationships in the Middle East.
"We're a specialist firm that has scale, and QED has a real track record of executing on 'geoarbitrage,'" Tercek said. "If there's a sector where we've had success in an investment, we're able to take those learnings and see if a similar company can grow or exist in a different geography."
- The Gulf Cooperation Council countries specifically have worked to diversify their economies and reduce their reliance on oil revenues, according to PwC. VC investments in the GCC have grown at a compound annual rate of 24% over the past five years.
- "It's not just a copy-paste strategy, there's a lot of thought and expertise that goes into executing strategy in a different country."
🗣️ What she's saying: Tercek said she tries to always take a bespoke approach with each LP.
- "Every part of this business is about relationships," Tercek said. "So much of investor relations is creating enduring relationships that are going to last multiple vintages and hopefully different products."
- Tercek's favorite part of her job is the end result. "You're managing someone's money and you're responsible for investing their capital," she said. "Helping them accomplish their goals and seeing the power of what we do every day is really powerful."
🍽️ Content plate: "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" by Joan Didion. Recalling her California roots, Tercek said no one writes prose like Didion.
💭 Best advice: "Be kind. Life is long and you don't know when people from your past are going to come back."
- Tercek also incorporates yoga and meditation into her daily life after growing up practicing with her parents.
