Shaking up the boys’ club one deal at a time
Ellie Hollinshead meets Nicola Merritt, founder and CEO of Cortus Advisory
Hello Rainmakers,
Corporate finance may once have been seen as a boys’ club of late-night networking, golf days and completion meetings (remember them) dominated by men.
But that picture is gradually changing, with more women entering the sector and helping reshape the culture around how deals are done, even if most gatherings still have more quarter zip jumpers than women.
Ellie Hollinshead meets one of the sector’s most prominent changemakers, Nicola Merritt, founder and CEO of Cortus Advisory.
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Nicola Merritt, founder and CEO of Cortus Advisory, has watched the dial shift first-hand during her career in corporate finance.
Yet her route into Rainmakers legend status started somewhat by chance while training as an auditor.
“I’ve always been fascinated by how businesses grow, and M&A is a huge part of that growth story,” she said. “During my audit training at KPMG, I sat near the Transaction Services team and instantly knew that their world looked far more exciting to me. I transferred across before I was even fully qualified and quickly found myself working on some fantastic deals.”
Early on, Merritt says she didn’t immediately see the industry as male dominated.
“At that stage, my immediate team included several strong women, including partners I genuinely admired, so I didn’t initially experience the industry as male-dominated,” she explained. “It was only as I became more exposed to the broader deals ecosystem - the lawyers, the bankers, the wider adviser community - that I noticed how few women were in the room.
“As I became more senior, I increasingly found myself as the only woman at the table. And whether real or perceived, I felt I needed to work a little harder to maintain credibility and authority. It wasn’t a barrier but it certainly added an extra layer of pressure.”
While the deal environment is known for its pace and intensity, Merritt believes perspective and empathy can go a long way.
“The deal environment is fast-paced, high-pressure and hugely rewarding but it can also be quite intense,” she said. “I don’t think being a woman necessarily gives me a ‘different’ perspective, but I do think being comfortable showing empathy absolutely does.”
“I’ve always believed that everyone working on a deal has something going on in their personal life that matters more than the transaction itself. Calling that out, grounding the room in realism, has often earned me credibility and respect.”
She still remembers one moment from earlier in her career that perfectly captured that idea.
“I vividly remember working on a transaction where the team was asked to work through the weekend in the office. One of my senior female colleagues simply asked, ‘We aren’t heart surgeons - is this really necessary?’ It was such a powerful reminder that perspective matters.”
According to Merritt, while the opportunities in the industry haven’t dramatically changed, attitudes and expectations around work certainly have.
“I don’t think the number of opportunities has drastically changed, but I do think women today are more honest with themselves about the trade-offs they’re willing to make,” she said. “They’re more intentional and informed in choosing the environments they want to build careers in.”
“What we really need is a broader structural shift in the industry, one that recognises modern family dynamics, where many male colleagues also share childcare and domestic responsibilities.”
Some of the biggest cultural shifts may come from changing how the industry connects and networks.
“Historically, business development has centred around activities that tend to appeal to a narrow demographic - late-evening networking events, heavy drinking, golf days, and long ‘face time’ expectations,” Merritt said.
