Elizabeth Dater Jennings, who had a storied career in investment management and was among the first female media analysts on Wall Street, died Nov. 27, 2024. She was 79 years old.
Born on May 13, 1945, Beth, as she was called, was the daughter of Joan FitzGerald Snow and Pershing W. Burgard and was raised in Cambridge, Mass. As a child, she summered in Provincetown where she was introduced to acting and theater at the acclaimed Provincetown Playhouse. That interest she embraced throughout her life by promoting and supporting Broadway bound productions. She was fluent in the words and tunes of every Broadway show and could often be found around the piano of her grandfather or uncle, singing those songs. After graduating from Sacred Heart, Kingston, Mass., she went on to study theatre and acting at the Boston University School of Fine Arts.
Her enthusiasm for adventure and travel led to a brief career as a flight attendant with Pan American Airlines where she met and subsequently married her first husband, Michael R. Dater, which ended in divorce.
On Sept. 30, 1977, she married William Mitchell (Mitch) Jennings, who had a successful career in finance at Bear Stearns. They shared a love of nature, history, and the arts, spending time hiking and skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho and became avid collectors of Americana and other antiquities.
Beth Dater’s career in investment management spanned 50 years, starting with a stint at Lehman Brothers, and then joined Fiduciary Trust Company of New York in 1970 where she became a vice president and U.S. equities analyst, specializing in the newspaper and media industries.
In 1978, Beth joined Warburg-Pincus Asset Management and, within two years, rose to managing director. She was named director of research in 1986. She launched the firm’s small capitalization and emerging growth equity business, which reached $1 billion in value within five years. In 1989, Beth also started the first post-venture capital distribution business in the U.S., which became the industry leader in a decade, with over billions in assets under management.
After being appointed to Warburg-Pincus’s five-member Operating Committee in 1991, she led the firm through its sale and merger with Credit Suisse Asset Management and then served on their America’s Management Committee.
In 2019, she retired as managing director of Angelo, Gordon and Co.
Beth was a panelist on the popular PBS show “Wall Street Week,” hosted by Louis Rukeyser. In the words of a longtime friend, William Gedale, former president and CEO of General American Investors, “Beth was a brilliant analyst and a great investor.”
Beth was a passionate advocate for women’s rights and equal opportunity and mentored countless young men and women who worked with her, grew up in her family, or were just inspired by her fierce intelligence and kindness. Dedicated to a number of causes and institutions, she served on the boards of the New York Historical museum, Prep for Prep, the Academy of Teachers, New York Medical Center, and the Irish Georgian Society, and was on the advisory committee of Women in Need. She also served on the investment committee of the New York Community Trust.
In addition to her husband, Mitch Jennings, of Greenwich, Conn., she is survived by her brother, Christopher J. Snow, and his spouse, Kathleen Keenan Snow of Provincetown, Mass., her sister Robyn Snow of Brewster, Mass., her cousin Adrienne FitzGerald of Brooklyn, NY., her niece Helen FitzGerald Jacobs, and spouse Brian Jacobs of Seattle, Wash., Andrew Burgard of Durango, Colo., and Patrick Burgard of New York, NY. She was predeceased by her brother Stephen Burgard, of Arlington, Mass.
A service was scheduled for Dec. 11, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at the Rye Presbyterian Church, at 882 Boston Post Rd, Rye, NY.
Donations in Beth Dater’s memory may be made to The Irish Georgian Society, LLC, 1953 N Clybourn Avenue, Suite R286, Chicago, IL, 60614, and The New York Historical, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024.