Judy Chambers’ finance career began early, working in a bank during the summer from age 15.
She continued working at banks while earning her bachelor’s degree and an MBA, the latter from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Chambers left banking and a job in Lehman Brothers’ finance department for private equity consulting in 2002, after meeting Allan Emkin, a managing principal and founder of consulting firm Pension Consulting Alliance. Meketa merged with PCA in 2019.
Chambers is now a managing principal and private markets consultant at Meketa.
Fostering women’s growth starts with “one, recruiting them and then keeping them” by sponsoring them, ensuring they get the proper exposure in front of the rest of the team, she said.
Female executives who are just starting out need time to get on the right path, she said. “Everyone is smart,” but they may not know what to do because they hadn’t done it before, she said.
Mentors have been key in her own career, with sponsorship being key, Chambers said. Sponsorship means that there is always someone at the table that is fighting for you even if you’re not in the room, Chambers said. “What keeps you at a firm is sponsorship,” she added.
The industry has become more inclusive, better reflecting society than 20 or so years ago, Chambers said.
“But it’s still not 50-50,” she said. “I go to a lot of meetings where I’m the only woman that has come through the room all day long. That shouldn’t be at this point in 2024.”
Meketa had $1.9 trillion in assets under advisement as of March 31.