Blackstone Participates in Annual Fortune—U.S. Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership  

Blackstone proudly participated in the annual Fortune—U.S. Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership, a program to empower global women leaders with critical leadership and business skills and pair them with top women executives from the United States’ most prestigious companies and their teams for customized mentorship. Kelley Morrell—Head of Asset Management within Blackstone’s Private Equity Businesses—hosted mentee Natalia Arango for a weeklong visit to help her hone skills from strategic planning to managing the board and client relationships.


_{Arango (left) and Morrell (right) at Blackstone.}

Arango is the Executive Director of Fondo Acción, a Colombian non-profit that invests in nature conservation and children’s wellbeing. During its 20 years of operation, Fondo Acción has supported nearly 900 Colombian organizations and over 1,400 projects in the field.

Morrell facilitated networking between Arango and senior executives across Blackstone and its portfolio, from the realms of ESG, government relations, investing and beyond. Her itinerary included a board meeting with women-led portfolio company, SPANX, attending Blackstone Capital Partners Annual General Meeting where Morrell presented to investors and our Portfolio Operations’ inaugural Culture Club.

“I’ve learned so much from Kelley and everyone at Blackstone,” Arango said. “I’m going home with a lot of wisdom and ideas to implement at Fondo Acción like how to lead my team while being approachable.”

“Hosting Natalia allowed me to take a little bit of a step back to be able to teach and explain why we were doing things in certain ways, which was really helpful to me,” Morrell said, noting the reciprocal nature of the mentoring relationship. “Natalia is an expert in her field, which is different yet complementary to Blackstone’s, so she challenged me to consider what sustainability really means in my own work and to think more broadly,” she added.