MORGAN STANLEY AT WORK
SAM ADAMS OF MORGAN STANLEY AT WORK DESCRIBES HER IPO STRATEGY JOURNEY
As the Executive Director , Private to Public Strategy for Morgan Stanley at Work , Sam Adams is passionate about managing IPO and private equity paths for companies
DID YOU KNOW ...
Playing a major role in the IPO and private equity programmes of some of the world ’ s largest companies was not originally in the career plan for Sam Adams . The Los Angeles native initially had ambitions to enter the interior design industry , as her family owned a textile cleaning and restoration business . “ I felt it was part of my DNA ,” she says .
But fate had other plans . After a post-college move to San Francisco , following the 2008 financial crash , Adams ended up working for a small start-up company that inadvertently put her on the path of being an equity owner and guiding companies and employees through large liquidity events .
From there , Adams moved to another start-up company , which involved her in the IPO process , and gave her the opportunity to be mentored . This led to further roles at MuleSoft and DoorDash – always operating in-house equity functions with a penchant for the private to public transition process .
She joined Morgan Stanley at Work because it offers her the opportunity to employ her skills and knowledge without having to move on from companies once the IPO process has been completed .
“ I ' m a single mom and I ' ve had to learn all these things on my own , and I take it really personally that , through my work , I can help other people who are probably in the exact same position that I was in 10 years ago .”
She adds : “ It ' s great to be able to recognise the value potential in a growing company . It ' s also important to have a high amount of responsibility and gratitude for those things , too . That really gets me up in the morning because I know that the work we do ends up creating an experience for an end user that we probably never talk to .”
“ Trust and reputation are a really big deal . Typically , when a company decides to embark on the path to IPO , they may only give themselves three months to manage the entire process ”
SAM ADAMS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR , PRIVATE TO PUBLIC STRATEGY , MORGAN STANLEY AT WORK
38 March 2023