Edward Keith III
Ares Management
Dallas, TX USA
"It really comes down to self-awareness and a growth mentality, and always being willing to improve and not having so much ego that you can’t see where you need to get better."
Career Roadmap
Edward's work combines: Business, Numbers, and Working with Others
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Start by learning how finance works. Read resources like The Wall Street Journal, and be proactive about meeting people in the industry and finding a mentor. The traditional path into private equity is to spend a couple of years in investment banking before making the move. If firms aren’t recruiting at your school, you may need to work harder to network, build relationships, and find ways to differentiate yourself.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Economics
Duke University
Graduate Degree
Business Administration and Management
Harvard Business School
Doctorate
Law
Harvard Law School
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Growing up, I thought my career choices were limited to becoming a doctor or lawyer because those were the professions I knew.
2.
At Duke, I followed friends to a Goldman Sachs info session which opened my eyes to finance and other career possibilities I hadn't known existed.
3.
I interned at Goldman Sachs as a junior, where I got my first real introduction to finance.
4.
After college, I pursued a dual JD and MBA, and explored law and consulting through internships while continuing to figure out where I belonged.
5.
A final internship introduced me to private equity—and a mix of preparation, luck, and being in the right place at the right time launched my career.
6.
I joined Landmark Partners after graduate school and built my career in private equity secondaries, gaining experience and learning to recognize patterns others might miss.
7.
Over 20 years, I learned that technical expertise only takes you so far—growth requires curiosity, self-awareness, humility, and a willingness to keep learning.
8.
Today, I lead infrastructure secondaries at Ares, making major investment decisions while helping my team grow toward careers and lives that matter to them.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You can either be a doctor or a lawyer.
How I responded:
Growing up, all I really knew about the future is that I could either become a doctor or a lawyer. Those were the only careers I knew because they were the only careers I was exposed to. It wasn't until I was in college that I was able to explore and learn more about other career paths.