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Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast
Amber Walsh on Industry Insights, Fresh Perspectives, and Inspiration from the McGuireWoods Healthcare PE Conference 5-23-25
00:12:49
In this episode, Amber Walsh, Partner and Executive Committee Member at McGuireWoods, joins Scott Becker to share insights from the firm’s annual Healthcare Private Equity Conference, from industry trends and “measured optimism” to lessons in perspecti...
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- [00:01]
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- [00:30]
Scott Becker
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast. We're thrilled today to be joined by Amber Walsh. Amber is on the executive committee, McGuire Woods. She lives at the intersection of business and health care and law private equity. She's an absolutely brilliant lawyer in person. Amber, you had the experience last week of helping to cheer the 21st Annual McGaughire Woods Healthcare Private Equity Conference. Maybe you'll share with us today a few different highlights and thoughts that come out of your thinking and what you're saying at the conference and in general.
- [01:08]
Amber Walsh
Yeah. Thank you, Scott. This is one of my favorite events that I get to help organize along with several of our other partners. Holly Buckley, Jeff Cockrell, yourself, Bart Walker. Lots of people at the firm involved in this, but it's one of my favorite things that I get to participate in. Every year we start the planning. Really we've already chosen the dates for next year, but really the intensive content planning about nine months out. And we grew from a first luncheon for a couple of hours to a two day conference with nearly 1,000 attendees and it's been in that format for several years. What I love about the conference is it takes some different forms every year in terms of what the focus is and what the vibe is. And very much in the same way that we talk about JP Morgan, reflecting the vibe of the healthcare private equity industry. Every year in January, our conference does the same thing where you're able to get investors, healthcare company executives, those of us who serve the industry as lawyers, bankers, et cetera, all together to share our independent perspectives of what we're seeing in the market, but where we think things are going as well. And I would say that the overall characterization of what people are feeling is similar to what I've expressed to you over the past several months is measured optimism. That's a phrase that we continue to hear along with some other different themes. But I love this opportunity to get together, kind of take temperature and yes, our own feelings influence each other's feelings. That's just very natural. But I came away relatively positive on the investment community standpoint, but really thankful to have the opportunity for new perspectives. So in addition to measured optimism, for me, new perspectives was a theme that settled on me throughout the conference, including through our two keynoters, one of whom you were able to moderate, really in a wonderful dialogue.
- [03:35]
Scott Becker
Thank you. And take a moment sort of on what you sort of saw, what you're sort of thinking. I know we're talking about Anushe Onsari, who's this astronaut, CEO of xprize, which is a fascinating organization, entrepreneur, investor, advocate for women entrepreneurs. I mean, what a remarkable, remarkable person. Talk of it, about some of the thoughts that you saw, some of the things you saw, etc. Etc.
- [04:02]
Amber Walsh
Yeah, absolutely. So Anusha gave a really interesting perspective. She has literally had a view that very few humans on this planet have had, which is from space. She left the atmosphere. She didn't just do a suborbital mission that you're now seeing in some of the space exploration. She was able to see the Earth in a completely different perspective. And there are so few people who will ever get the opportunity to do that. And it was remarkable to hear her. It really is a metaphor for the different types of perspectives that I also kept thinking about as the two day conference went along. Her perspective of being there and looking at the Earth for the first time, and despite what she had been told her entire life, and we're all told where she expected to see more delineation and lines and clear borders, you don't.
- [05:06]
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See that from space.
- [05:07]
Amber Walsh
Now all of us have seen pictures of the Earth from space. That's one thing that while most of us will never experience it in person, yes, of course we've seen satellite images. But hearing her talk about that very impactful moment and that immediate shift in perspective, and when it comes from someone who herself immigrated when she was very young, as a young teenager from Iran, not speaking English, coming to the United States, going through the educational system and university system and what she grew into. When you hear about that first moment from her lens, looking back at the earth, realizing the lack of borders, all of the possibility and everything that she went through herself to get to that point, it was just remarkable and quite uplifting. At a moment where we all need to be thinking about things beyond ourselves and our little microcosms, it was a really great uplifting moment. In the midst of talking about healthcare, investing, and you would not think that those two concepts would align terribly closely, but they really do because everyone needs inspiration like that and a little bit of perspective shift. And I Think everyone appreciated hearing that from her?
- [06:38]
Scott Becker
No, we couldn't agree more. She was absolutely phenomenally inspiring. She doesn't keep a high social media profile. You guys found her as a keynote speaker. She was remarkable. She also led the Women's Leadership Breakfast speak, where you got a chance to moderate with her. And just fantastic. And Amber, tell us what else is on your mind coming out of the conference and why conferences like this, not just ours, but anybody's conferences, can be so uplifting and so motivating. Talk a little bit about that.
- [07:06]
Amber Walsh
Yeah, this actually is one of the things we always encourage our young attorneys as they are first starting to come out of the office, come out of their individual teams and client matters and projects, and step into the realm of conference attendance. We always encourage them to dive in. Listen, don't be multitasking and focusing on your own client needs at that moment. You are there to hear new perspectives. There is no point in going to any gathering of professionals, be it in this case, healthcare, private equity. Sometimes you have a gathering of healthcare lawyers. When you go to your conference of CIOs or hospital executives, whatever it is, you are not there to hear the same thing and to have your own thoughts echoed back to you. You're there to hear new perspectives. That's the value of those sorts of gatherings. But it's not natural sometimes where you really have to encourage people to experience and listen and ask questions. And I'll give you a perfect example. I'll give you two examples from the conference. One is the perspective of the. What we were calling the titans of industry. That wasn't the official panel name, but, but you had remarkable hospital executives like JP Gallagher. You had healthcare futurists giving all of these different perspectives of where they sit in the industry. And some of it is reflective of one another, but much of it is not. They have different viewpoints. And it's really the whole point of being there is to take those in and then take it back to your own organization and figure out what is more meaningful to you that you can implement in your investment strategy, the way you run your teams, etc. The other example I'll give is Lance Armstrong was our first aid keynote, moderated by our partner, Holly Buckley. And just listening to his different perspective on his story, including not, not just the part that with Oprah and the scandal and all that piece that was interesting, but just his perspective on who he is as an athlete and how he defined himself early on as a swimmer and a triathlon triathlete. Excuse me, less of A cyclist. These shifts in perspective are so interesting. And the whole point of attending conferences like this, in my view.
- [09:55]
Scott Becker
Yeah, no, 100%. We did a separate discussion, this, about Lance Armstrong earlier, and this is a concept that we talk about, is that people that are somewhat flawed or that have had their scars are often the most interesting and explosive keynote speakers as you watch them try and evolve and figure themselves out. Whether we've had over the past years, people like Rick Patino who went through a famous downfall and then came back to lead St. John's Lance Armstrong who now is trying to reposition himself, rehabilitate himself. I mean, sometimes these people that are flawed, as we all are are often the most interesting keynotes because they're just. It's fascinating to see somebody who's had their problems be very real. I mean, even I go back to having Bill Clinton on stage several times who went through the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal. And just, you know, knowing that he's imperfect also makes him kind of more interesting too. And sometimes there's more to learn from the people of it's right or wrong. But, you know, fascinating to watch these people that if he had some, some scars and flaws that have been very public, you know, still be in the public eye and their perspectives and just literally fantastic and fascinating. I mean the room was people for all you know, we got it. Whenever you book a keynote speaker like that, and I wasn't responsible for booking, but I'm a huge fan and supportive of the concept. You get 20% of people in advance of the conference saying negative things. How could you have this person speak? How could you do this? And you get that about lots of speakers from different sides of political as well. But what was fascinating is how explosively positive he was, the audience and how the audience responded to him. It was, it was jam packed. People were very excited. People went to a workout session with him at some point during the conference too, that was done for charity. It just an absolute fantastic thing. And there's just so many interesting pieces to that about human nature, about what we all find fascinating.
- [11:53]
Amber Walsh
Absolutely. And it's just such a great opportunity to take two days out of our daily lives, our daily rigor. Yes. We still have to make sure we're responsive to clients and keep deals moving all throughout a two day event like that. But if you can allow yourself to just sink in and enjoy the, and hear the story and take just tidbits back for yourself on what you can learn from that. I love the word that you just used, the redemptive moments. Those are so helpful. And there's all sorts of different perspectives that everyone brings on all the different panels, be it a deep dive into the dental industry or talking about lending terms or something much more, you know, ephemeral as that sort of fall from grace that Lance was talking about. It's all really valuable. And it's why you attend a conference like that and why I came back feeling invigorated and, you know, ready to get back to daily life.
- [13:02]
Scott Becker
No. Fantastic. Again, we're, we are so thankful today to be joined by the amber Walsh of McGuire woods, leader extraordinaire. Amber, thank you so much for joining us today on the Vector Private equity and Business podcast. Just a pleasure to visit with you.
- [13:16]
Amber Walsh
Thank you, Scott.
- [13:20]
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