Responsible Private Equity with Melanie Sponholz

Unless: The Podcast, hosted by Dr. Hemma R. Lomax

In this episode of 'Unless the Podcast,' Hemma interviews Melanie Sponholz, the Chief Compliance Officer and Director of Responsible Investing at Waud Capital Partners and a professor at Fordham Law. Melanie shares her unique career journey, which began as an English major and transitioned through roles in physical therapy and compliance leadership for a leading private equity firm and their portfolio of healthcare companies.

Tune in to hear this engaging discussion on the challenges and opportunities in private equity, including the importance of efficiency and creating a community of practice among compliance professionals. Melanie's approach to mentoring and professional development within and outside her portfolio companies highlights her dedication to elevating the compliance profession.

Highlights:

• Melanie's Career Journey: From Literature to Compliance

• The role of the Unexpected Compliance Officer

• Responsible Investing and ESG Strategy

• Private Equity's Reputation and Impact

• Mentorship and Building Professional Communities

Timestamps:

3:11 - Introducing Melanie

13:18 - The importance of a human-centered approach

24:37 - Melanie's unique role in the PE space

33:22 - Responsible investing

47:18 - Efficiency in private equity

53:43 - Melanie's thoughts on corporate compliance

Biography

‍In Melanie's compliance role, she serves as a strategic resource to the firm’s healthcare portfolio companies to support the mission of creating and maintaining a strong culture of ethics and compliance within WCP-affiliated entities. She works in tandem with the WCP investment teams and portfolio company leadership teams throughout the life cycle of every investment to build best-in-class compliance programs, provide effective risk assessment, guide compliance team development, coordinate with legal and outside consultants, provide guidance on due diligence and integration efforts, and prepare for future transactions.

Prior to joining WCP, Melanie served as Chief Compliance Officer at BioScrip, Home Solution, and Fox Rehabilitation. She is a frequent speaker on healthcare compliance and strives to support the compliance professio by mentoring and creating networking and development opportunities for her team and others in the field. Melanie holds a BA, magna cum laude, from Drew University and an MS, with honors, from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, as well as numerous credentials from the Compliance Certification Board.

Outside of her professional career, Melanie enjoys spending time with her husband and three daughters, cooking, doing Peleton everything, and daydreaming about her future life on an organic farm with many, many rescue dogs.