Leslie Harwell

Managing Partner, Alante Capital

Atlanta

Leslie has over a decade of experience working in financial institutions. Prior to Alante, Leslie was Vice President of Sustainable Finance at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where she developed and led the Capital Strategies Initiative for Sustainable Finance in the Americas, and was involved in the management of and value creation in the Social Finance Principal Investing portfolio.

Leslie began her career at Credit Suisse, where she spent 7 years primarily focused on the evaluation of Debt Capital Markets in Emerging Markets, including coverage of sovereign and corporate clients. She helped issuers in Latin America & the Caribbean raise funds in the international capital markets, managing transactions from pitch through due diligence, structuring and execution. Her first role at the Bank was in Operations, where she managed the transition of legacy reference data systems and firm-wide integration of a new automated platform, training as a Six Sigma Green Belt in the process. Leslie holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University with a minor in Arab Studies.

Alante combines Leslie’s lifelong passion for responsibly produced apparel, personal commitment to sustainable development and honed affinity for finding efficient solutions to complex challenges. The apparel industry is a passion of Leslie’s that is practically inherited. Her grandfather’s family owned the cotton gin, general store, and a clothing store in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. Leslie’s mother spent her career in the apparel industry and ingrained the importance of vintage, quality and sustainable sourcing…and also taught Leslie everything she knows about shopping in souks, bazaars, and markets all around the world.