April 5, 2021
Venturing Out is a video series from H Venture Partners about life after the corporate C-suite. Founder and managing partner Elizabeth Edwards talks to consumer executives about the next phase of their careers, and what led them to become involved in venture capital investing.
Kim Jordan is a former R&D executive at P&G with over 35 years of experience, working in 11 categories including beauty, foods, pet care, and oral care. Why did she stay so long? Very few roles can offer you the opportunity to learn something new everyday, which Kim loved. She also got to stretch her legs and work on R&D in both Europe and Asia, in addition to U.S. markets. “By the time my children graduated high school, they had visited 35 countries,” she says. “It was really an amazing career.” Engaging with her wealth manager as she moved toward retirement, she had a realization. In the U.S., women are more educated, generating more wealth, and advocating for themselves more than ever before, yet many major wealth decisions were being made by others. “I’d been mentoring women for years as a senior leader in my organization, and I had never asked the question that I asked the wealth manager that day, which was, ‘What percentage of my portfolio is being managed by female managers?’” Kim says. “And the answer was zero.”
Knowing diverse leadership delivers better outcomes, Kim went back to the drawing board in assembling her portfolio. She also got involved with H Venture Partners, and helped spearhead the #HerWorth campaign, which debuted last year on International Women’s Day. Most of Kim’s time is now engaged in either venture capital, mentoring startups, and volunteering at a local animal shelter. In our latest episode of Venturing Out, find out more about why Kim was so drawn to VC and how being involved on the investing side helps feed her passion for mentorship.